Contributed by Pastor Seth Moland-Kovash, All Saints Lutheran Church, Palatine, IL

Warm-Up Question

Who are the historical figures you look up to the most?

Signs of the Times

We all have historical figures to whom we look up. We admire what they accomplished. We are thankful for what they did for the rest of us. We use them as examples of what we could accomplish or how we should behave. Heroes of the past are an important part of any culture. 

In our culture, as in many others, some of our most-admired heroes are sports figures. Halls of Fame are places where heroes of the past are especially remembered. In the summer of 2010 Andre Dawson was chosen to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. In a career that spanned 1976 through 1996, Dawson played for four major league teams and amassed a career batting average of .279 with 438 home runs. 

One important factor in remembering our heroes is how they are remembered. Do we remember them as baseball players or as humanitarians? If as baseball players, for which team do we remember them playing?  For Dawson, as for many others, there has been some controversy over which team’s cap his Hall of Fame bust will wear. The final decision, which was up to the Hall of Fame committee, is that Dawson will wear the cap of the Montreal Expos instead of a Chicago Cubs’ cap, which was his choice. 

Discussion Questions

1. When you picture your favorite historical figure, how do you know that it’s him/her?
2. How much control should public figures have over how they are remembered? Should Dawson be able to choose which team’s cap his statue wears in the Hall?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, February 7, 2010 (Fifth Sunday after Epiphany)

(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.

Exodus 34:29-35

2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2

Luke 9:28-36 [37-43a]

Gospel Reflection

When Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him up the mountain, they met the greats of the past.  It was as if Mt. Rushmore or the Baseball Hall of Fame had come to life for them on the mountaintop. They saw Moses, the author of the law  they had been studying since they were little boys. They saw Elijah, the prophet above all prophets, promised to come again before the Messiah. And they saw their friend Jesus in all his glory. 

I’ve often wondered (and I know I’m not alone) how Peter, James, and John knew that it was Moses and Elijah they were talking with. They didn’t have pictures of them. How could they have known? What was it about the experience that helped them understand it? 

Remember that the version we’re reading was written down a long time later. Perhaps it took them a long time to figure out what had happened to them. Perhaps it was only after Jesus’ death and resurrection that they looked back and realized completely what they had experienced. Maybe only after talking it over with others (and with Jesus) as they came down the mountain, did they start to figure it out. 

Discussion Questions

1. In religious history, who is the figure (let’s say other than Jesus) with whom you’d want to sit down and have a chat? What would you talk about?
2. How do you recognize someone as a great person?  What are the qualities of greatness that you look for?

Activity Suggestion

Sit down with the historical greats of your congregation.  Find several persons who have been a part of your congregation the longest and ask them about what they remember of the congregation’s past.

Closing Prayer

Good and gracious God, we thank you for all the saints and great ones whom you have given to us as examples and teachers. Help us to learn from their example as we try to follow you. Amen.

Contributed by Bill King, Blacksburg, VA

Warm-up Question

Think about the person with whom you most enjoy spending time.  What makes that person’s company so pleasant?

Being Benny Blowhard

Are you a “Chatty Cathy” or a “Benny Blowhard”?  Everyone knows somebody who is long-winded and we usually regard such people as boring and self-absorbed.  But according to Marty Nemko, Kiplinger.com columnist, you could be that person and not know it.  He offers a few questions you can ask yourself to determine whether others are secretly looking for an open window to jump out of when they see you coming:

• Do my pronouncements routinely exceed one minute?
• Do I wander off on tangents?
• Do my listeners often show signs of lack of interest?
• Have my friends ever called me oblivious, egocentric, or selfish?
• Do I blather on about details which interest me but are of little interest to my listener?
• Do others avoid making eye contact when they pass me for fear of getting into a long conversation? 

Nemko says you pay a high price when people perceive you as a big mouth.  You will be held in low esteem and are likely to have fewer friends.  But all is not lost; there are things you can do to remedy the situation:  Be concise.  Be alert to your listener’s non-verbal clues.  Periodically pause and ask a question (“What do you think?”).  Nemko suggests that you adopt the “traffic light rule.”  For the first thirty seconds assume the light is green and the listener is probably not bored.  In the next thirty seconds the light turns yellow and the risk of boring increases.  After sixty seconds, think red and realize that running the light with that favorite story is dangerous. 

“Remember,” says Nemko, “If you care about other people, you’ll make them part of the conversation… Think of it this way: Big talkers learn little. Good listeners learn a lot.” 

Source:  http://www.kiplinger.com/magazine/archives/2007/04/nemko.html 

Discussion Questions

• Why do you think some people talk so much, even to the point of not realizing they bore their listeners?
• How might the “traffic light rule” apply to Facebook, texting, and IM?
• What is the best way, both effective and kind, to tell someone that he or she talks too much?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, January 31, 2010 (Fourth Sunday After Epiphany)

(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. 

Jeremiah 1:4-10

I Corinthians 13:1-13

Luke 4:21-30

Bible Reflection

He could have stopped while he was ahead.  The home town boy had come home to great acclaim.  “Yes sir,” they were saying, “that Jesus has turned out to be quite a preacher—knows his Bible backwards and forward.”  The text he’d picked from Isaiah was always a crowd pleaser.  Those words about release to the captives, sight to the blind, and liberty for the oppressed—that sounded great to people who lived every day with their noses rubbed in their insignificance to the empire which ruled them.  Despite all appearances they were important.  God had not forgotten them; someday there would be a reckoning.  The world would see how special they were.  Just hearing the prophet’s words read gave the whole congregation a warm feeling.  All Jesus had to do to end the day very well-liked was to stop talking. 

But being popular was never a high priority for Jesus.  So he reminds the congregation of an inconvenient truth:  God seems to care about everyone, Jew and Gentile.  There were plenty of hungry Jewish widows when God sent Elijah to Sidon.  Even more offensive to those who assumed God’s love was only for Israel, Jesus points out that God directed Elisha to heal a foreign conqueror when there were plenty of pious lepers among the Chosen People.  In an instant Jesus went from hometown hero to outsider on the lam. 

Theologian Elton Trueblood observed that “the world is equally shocked at hearing Christianity criticized and seeing it practiced.”  We hear about God’s love and get a warm feeling.  It’s good to know that nothing we can do will separate us from God.  We gather with the community in Christ, sing happy songs, and take comfort from the support which surrounds us.  Nothing wrong with that.  But then Jesus has the audacity to suggest that he might love the folks who are not like us.  He might care about those who practice other religions, live in countries at war with our own, have a different colored skin, or have a lifestyle we find offensive.  Even more appalling, he seems to want us to love them too.  Then we are not so sure we like this God after all.  

Unconditional, expansive love is fine in the abstract—but, Jesus, I was really thinking it meant that you love folks fundamentally like me and mine.  You mean it includes precisely those I find most offensive?  Lord, if you think I am going to do that, there is the cliff I’d like you take a step off of… 

Sometimes we get in trouble for talking too much.  The question is whether people find us offensive because we are not saying anything worth hearing or because what we are saying is so filled with God’s Word that it is hard to hear and remain unchanged.

Discussion Questions

• Who are the outsiders beyond your community which you resist including in God’s care?
• Can you remember a time when expressing God’s love for all people caused you to be excluded or rejected?
• Many persons say the church is losing members because it is like a boring speaker who talks too much and never listens?  Do you think that is true?  How could the church listen to those beyond its fellowship?

Activity Suggestions

• Have your group role play the scene at the synagogue described in Luke 4.  In order to capture the full drama you will need to expand the gospel reading to include verses 16-20.  Invite the group to imagine how the mood in the synagogue would have changed as Jesus read and then offered an expansive interpretation of the text from Isaiah.  You might want to cast the scene to include Jesus’ family, the leader of the synagogue, older folks who had known Jesus as a boy, some of his peers growing up, and members of the Jewish community. 
•  Place a chalice and paten in the center of the meeting space.  Give participants a number of small slips of paper printed with “The body and blood of Christ are given for_________.”  Ask participants to write in the name of those persons or groups they find hardest to love.  Invite them to consider both large categories and the individuals with whom they interact daily.  When all have filled out as many slips as they wish, put all the slips on the paten or in the chalice.  Talk about why it is hard to love some people and how imagining them at the Lord’s table might change our attitude toward them.  End with the prayer below.

Closing Prayer

Lord, who always listened to the longings of those you met, open our ears, that we may compassionately  hear the hurts and needs of all whom we encounter this week.  May no person, through our words or deeds, feel excluded from your love.  In the name of Him who broke down the dividing wall between Jew and Gentile, we make our prayer.  Amen.

Contributed by Sylvia Alloway, Granda Hills, CA

Warm-up Question

Do you have everything you need? If not, what do you think is lacking? Are all needs physical? List some non-physical needs.

Salvation Army the Victim of a Hoax

We have all seen the familiar red pot and patient bell ringer in front of stores at Christmas. Collectors for the Salvation Army receive gifts ranging from a few coins to hundreds of dollars. Forty per cent of the aid association’s capital comes from the humble red Christmas pots.This year, however, the Army’s Charleston, S. C. chapter was the victim of a baffling hoax. A seeming act of great generosity turned into a great disappointment as a check for $25,000 bounced after the group had already spent part of it on the needs of some 100 families.

Other charitable organizations in the Charleston area received large checks, supposedly from Force Protection, Inc., a manufacturer of armored trucks, but only the Salvation Army cashed theirs. Force Protection knew nothing about the “gifts,” which were drawn on a bank account closed months before. The case is being investigated, but no arrests have been made.

The loss means a lack of funds that will translate into less help for the poor, even as the recession brings more and people to the door of the nationally known charity.

Source: Associated press article from Yahoo.com

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_fake_checks_charities 

Discussion Questions 

1. What motive could someone have for giving bad checks to a charity?
2. If you came face to face with the person who committed this fraud, what would you say to him/her?
3. Some believe that fewer and fewer people care about doing right simply because it is right. Do you agree?  If lying, cheating and stealing are on the rise, what, if anything, can the church and/or  individual Christians do to stop this trend?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, January 17, 2010 (Second Sunday after Epiphany)

(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.

 Isaiah 62:15

I Corinthians 12:1-11

John 2:1-11 

Gospel Meditation 

So there was the wedding party and all of a sudden they ran out of wine. What’s the big deal? Couldn’t they drink something else?  No, they could not. Wedding parties of the day were huge, week-long affairs to which the entire community was invited. By the rules of hospitality, the host was expected to provide generously for his guests. Not to do so was a social error so great that it could ruin a family’s reputation. 

Many people interpret this story to mean that Jesus approves of marriage and he most certainly does. Others say it proves that God has nothing against good times, which is emphatically true, as well. 

But Jesus is also responding to a serious social need. And look how he responds. The “master of the banquet” (similar to what we call the “best man”) is so impressed with the wine that he takes the groom aside to comment on it. “You have saved the best until now.” Jesus can turn the plain and ordinary into his best. In this way he reveals his glory! 

The world can only give us bounced checks – IOUs for happiness and contentment which can never truly fulfill our needs. Depend on worldly glitter and gadgets for lasting satisfaction and you will come away empty every time. But Jesus’ presence can turn the “water” of our lives—broken promises, dead-end ambitions, and foolish desires—into his celebratory wine.  From Him flow new promises, ambitions, and desires, which lead to inner peace and joy that are not dependent on outward circumstances. 

And since we receive both physical and spiritual blessings from God, does it not make sense to share them? Many in our own neighborhoods are physically hungry. Even more suffer from spiritual want. Like the Salvation Army, let us continually give both physical comfort and the message of the Gospel to those in need. 

Discussion Questions 

1. Think about the benefits of knowing and serving Jesus as our Savior. List and talk about some of them.
2. What does it mean to be in need? Compare what we think we need to what we really need. Discuss the needs you mentioned in the warm-up question. How do we satisfy these needs?
3. In a time when more and more people are without even the basics of life, the Salvation Army and other charitable organizations are stretched to the limit as to how many they can help. What can your church, your Sunday school class, and you personally do to help the poor of your community? 

Activities 

1. Plan a project for your church or youth group that will help the poor of your community. Some examples: You might sponsor a food or clothing drive (especially focusing on clothes for children, babies, or adults going on job interviews).  Cook and serve a monthly evening meal in the church hall.  Offer babysitting service for the children of parents who are searching for work. Try to make it something that will bring you face to face with those in need. 
2. Plan a project that will fulfill spiritual needs.  Some examples: Go door to door telling people about your church and/or passing out Bibles.  Read or act out Bible stories for children.  Sponsor a youth concert with Christian music. 

Suggested songs: Great Is Thy Faithfulness, Give Thanks (with a Grateful Heart)

 Closing Prayer

Merciful Father, who supplies our needs with your best, turn our hearts outward. Open our eyes to the needs of those around us and, out of the help, love, and encouragement that you have first given us, help us to give generously to all. In the name of your Son, Jesus Christ Our Lord, we pray.  Amen.

Contributed by Jay McDivitt

Warm-up question:

What things bring you joy during this time of year? What things irritate you during the holiday season?

Story: Congress Wages War…over Christmas

Representative Henry Brown, Jr. (R-South Carolina), has introduced a bill in the House which, if passed, would make it clear that Congress “strongly disapproves of attempts to ban references to Christmas” and “expresses support for the use of… symbols and traditions by those who celebrate Christmas.” Brown believes that it is important for him to have “the right to celebrate Christmas” and that “wishing someone ‘Merry Christmas’ should never be met with disapproval.”

Although this is the first time that the so-called “War over Christmas” has been discussed in Congress, it has become a regular feature of the holiday season to debate how people—especially retail employees and public leaders—should greet one another during this festivetime. As the U.S. becomes increasingly diverse, the growing presence of non-Christian neighbors poses the question of whether “Merry Christmas” is a meaningful, appropriate, or insensitive way to greet strangers who may celebrate something else—or nothing at all—rather than the birth of Christ. “Happy Holidays” is a commonly used alternative.

Opinions vary widely, among Christians and non-Christians alike, about this question of decorum and etiquette. Some think this is an example of “political correctness” gone wild; others think it is a meaningful way to acknowledge religious diversity and offer a gesture of hospitality to non-Christian neighbors.  Still others think this conversation is simply a silly way to bring the “culture wars” into a season that should be filled with peace and good will.

Discussion questions:

1. What do you think about Rep. Brown’s proposed bill? Would you vote for it?
2. How do you greet people during this season? Do you have friends or neighbors who you know are non-Christian? Do you treat them differently from your Christian friends during the Christmas season?
3. Whether “Happy Holidays” or “Merry Christmas,” the greeting implies that this season is joyful. How joyful are you? How do you express joy during this season?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, December 20, 2009 (Fourth Sunday in Advent)

(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.

Micah 5:2-5a

Hebrews 10:5-10

Luke 1:39-45 (46-56)

Gospel Reflection:

            The season of Advent belongs, for the most part, to John the Baptist. This year, we have three weeks in a row where John plays an important role. Today, however, his name doesn’t even appear in the text—but he’s there. John is the baby who jumps for joy inside of Elizabeth’s tummy. Talk about a Christmas greeting!

            John’s main job was to prepare the way for the Messiah—to point out the Christ; and today we learn that even while he was in utero, he was doing his job. Elizabeth is six months pregnant with John when Mary shows up.  All Mary has to say is “hello,” and John does cartwheels in Elizabeth’s womb: “This is it! Pay attention to this one, Mom!” And Elizabeth, rubbing her belly, looks Mary in the eyes and calls her blessed; she recognizes Mary as the mother of her Lord.

            And anyone watching this scene unfold would have been very surprised. Mary? Her? This poor, unmarried girl carrying an “illegitimate child” is blessed? Cursed is more like it. At least embarrassed or ashamed… but blessed? The mother of the Lord?

            But Elizabeth knows—deep inside her own body—that something special is happening in Mary. This child is, indeed, the Messiah. John said so—long before John could even speak.

            And if you’ve been paying attention in Sunday School, you shouldn’t be all that surprised. Everywhere you turn in the Bible, God is doing wild and holy things with unexpected people. In God’s strange way, it makes sense that God would choose to bring the Messiah into the world through the womb of an unremarkable girl, a poor girl who probably wouldn’t have been noticed. Makes sense, of course, if you’re prepared to look in ordinary places for extraordinary things.

            And that’s what John prepares us to do. That’s his job. This important prophet, son of an important priest in the Jerusalem Temple, is only a signpost, pointing to the amazing thing that God is doing in this illegitimate child born to a homely girl from a good-for-nothing corner of Israel. So John points. And Elizabeth blesses. And Mary sings.

And that’s what we do, too.

We point—we look for signs of God’s grace and love in unexpected places.

We bless—we call things “holy” when they remind us of God among us.

And we sing—we greet Jesus with songs of joy and sing those songs in the midst of a world in fear.

We do this, not because we want to shove Jesus down peoples’ throats or to make people uncomfortable. We do it, even if we don’t always use words—even if we find other ways to share joy and life with people who do not share our faith in Christ. We do it, not because we have to or because God tells us to. We do it because we, like John, Mary, and Elizabeth, simply can’t help it. This news is too good not to make us jump for joy—to point, bless, and sing out the good news that God is coming, Christ is here, and joy is real—today and always. And thanks be to God for that. Amen.

Questions:

1. Where do you see signs of joy in the world around you? Where do you see the “Christ” in all the Christmas stuff that is happening during this season?
2. Does everything that says “Merry Christmas” on it have something to do with Jesus? What are some parts of the Christmas season that aren’t all that connected to the birth of Christ?
3. What would be a meaningful way to share the joy of Christmas with people who don’t know or worship Christ? What are some ways you can spread the joy of Christmas with people who aren’t feeling joyful?

Activities:

1. Go through the Christmas section of the hymnal you use in worship and count all the references to “joy.” What do these hymns say about the reason for joy? What do these hymns say about the reason for Christ’s birth—what it is all about or what it accomplishes? Finish by singing Joy to the World together (ELW 267). Notice that this is in the “Advent” section of the hymnal. Why do you think that is?
2. Depending on who you ask, either the Third or the Fourth Sunday in Advent is gaudete Sunday—the day when some folks light a pink candle on the Advent wreath. Gaudete means “joy” in Latin, and it traditionally was celebrated on the Third Sunday of Adventwhen the readings were about Mary’s pregnancy and the joyful announcement of Christ’s coming birth. In recent years, those readings now fall on the Fourth Sunday of Advent, leading to some confusion about when it would be appropriate to light the pink candle. Nevertheless, sometime around this day, the church celebrates Joy with a little pink flare—a break from the more solemn, blue season with its focus on repentance.  Introduce the theme of “joy” and gaudete Sunday to the youth and then make something pink—a stole/scarf, banner, t-shirt, etc. Invite the youth to adorn cloth with signs and symbols of things that bring them joy, things they are hopeful for, things they are waiting for in their lives. Invite them to share these projects with each other.

Prayer:

 O God for whom we wait: Fill us with joy as we celebrate your birth among us. Help us to see the joy you are bringing into the world and point it out to those around us. Open our hearts and minds to see your blessings and open our mouths to sing for joy. In the name of Christ we pray. Amen

Contributed by Matthew R. Nelson and Konor Clark (9th Grade, Walla Walla High School)
Christ Lutheran Church, Walla Walla, WA

Warm-up Question:  Describe a situation when you thought someone set a good example for others?

Girifushi, Maldives — To the lowest-lying nation on earth, global warming is a serious issue. Some fear that due to the melting of polar ice caps, the islands of Maldives could be under water in less than a century. At the present, the island averages only 7 feet above sea level.

To bring attention to this fact, President Mohammed Nasheed, a certified diver, and 13 other members of the Maldives cabinet dawned scuba gear and held an underwater meetingcomplete with tables and chairs in a lagoon off the island of Girifushi. Some members took scuba instruction just to be able to participate. Three officials could not attend due to health reasons and other travel responsibilities. Using hand signals to communicate the president and those present signed a document calling on all nations to cut carbon dioxide emissions.

Nasheed, representing approximately 350,000 people on 1,192 low-lying islands, has emerged as a primary voice on climate change. He has vowed to make the Maldives the world’s first carbon-neutral nation in the next ten years, and has announced plans for a fund to purchase a homeland and relocate citizens should submersion of the islands become eminent.

The meeting was intended to issue a sense of urgency to nations that will be attending a U.N. climate change conference in December. Wealthy nations are rallying for emissions cuts from all countries, while poorer nations seem to feel that the industrialized nations should carry more of the burden to achieve recommended goals.

Discussion Questions

1. Do you think global warming and climate change are serious issues? Can it or does it effect your environment locally or regionally?
2. What are the obvious issues in the global warming debate? Are there hidden issues and agendas? Who benefits and who suffers with those agendas?
3. Have you ever done something out of the ordinary to get someone’s attention? Was it effective? Why or why not?
4. What choices do you make that have a positive or negative impact on the world around you? On your congregation or community? Do you think your contributions and choices are recognized and make a difference?
5. How important is it to you to be recognized for the things you do?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, November 8, 2009.

(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.

• 1 Kings 17:8-16
• Psalm 146 (8)
• Hebrews 9:24-28
• Mark 12:38-44

Gospel Reflection

Jesus was an attentive and flexible teacher, using his surroundings and immediate circumstances to weave what was clearly observable into a more challenging spiritual context and lesson. As he was teaching, his focus was on the scribes who expected to be treated uniquely because of their status and knowledge. They acted one way, saying long prayers, while benefiting from the offerings of the rich and the poor; everyone was expected to give to their treasury. They were public figures who expected respect for exhibiting leadership and their own attributes of faith.

But as Jesus sat near the treasury to teach, his focus was not on the obvious, the actions of the Scribes and the gifts of the rich, but on the almost invisible forgotten gift of the widow.

When the widow’s two copper coins fell amongst the very noticeable offerings given by others ahead of her, Jesus seized the opportunity to open his disciple’s eyes to the gift she had given. Certainly, when the treasury was accounted for, her coins would not be thrown away. They would be used. Giving to the treasury was expected, but for those who had next to nothing to give, it was a tremendous sacrifice in comparison to those who gave so little from their abundance. The widow’s contribution counted because she sacrificed more than she could afford to.

As the United Nations addresses the issue of global warming, every contribution will count towards a better future for the world. It is often simpler to look at the more populated and industrialized nations to identify issues related to carbon dioxide emissions. At the same time, a large industrialized nation might hold itself up in front of the world saying “Look, we have reduced our emissions by 10%” while continuing to be the largest polluter and contributor to the problem.

As the international discussion continues, President Mohammed Nasheed has vowed to make the little islands of Maldives the first carbon-neutral nation in the world. Their underwater meeting might amount to just two simple coins in context of the world’s voice, but their goals, if accomplished, will set a standard of disproportionate giving. It may represent a standard of sacrifice to better the future of the world; a standard that Jesus would recognize in the midst of all the pageantry and high visibility of international discussions, politics, media coverage, meetings of powerful leaders, and global actions.

Discussion Questions

1. Do small offerings of time, talent, or money really make a difference? Why or why not? Can you give an example? (Some Sunday School offerings might amount to only a few dollars a week, but they might be given to a homeless shelter or used to buy a jacket or blanket for someone in need.)
2. Are there ways that you think your congregation, community, local government, or state can impact the world both locally and globally through seemingly small actions or decisions? How does considering the future or people beyond our immediate community shape our actions differently than if we just think about immediate needs or wants?
3. To what actions do the gospel and our faith lead us? (As uncomfortable as they may be.)
4. In what ways are you challenged to live and express your faith without reward or recognition or proof that great things will happen a a result?

Activity Suggestion

• Plan a ‘green day’ for your congregation during which ride sharing and walking to church set an example for your community — and each other. Contact local media to see if they are willing interview members of the congregation or provide local coverage. Look for other ways your group or congregation can save energy or reduce its footprint in the interest of caring for the environment and becoming healthier.
• Search or study the following Web sites. You’ll find ELCA statements and information on the environment and global warming:
  • ELCA Social Statement on Environment (Caring for Creation: Vision, Hope, and Justice)
  • Global Warming/Climate Change
  • Justice & Peace resources for youth ministry
• Create a list of common ways that individuals in your congregation can help lessen their footprint and save energy and resources. Copy and distribute the list in your bulletin or hand it out after worship. Create resources for your Web site.
• Does your congregation pass the offering plate through the pews during the worship service? How do you feel about this practice? What alternative ways are there for us to contribute the finances and gifts we have been blessed with? Do you think your recommendations would help or hurt the church financially? Why? Why not?
• Work to involve all ages in supporting the ministries of your congregation. Be creative in providing options that are age-appropriate and interesting. Spread the word in as many ways as possible that even the smallest of gifts or contributions help support the mission of the church. Don’t forget to interpret and describe what our mission and ministries are about. Learn more about youth stewardship at Stewardship 10-10-80.

Closing Prayer

Lord our God, as you know, we may not have the riches of the world, but there is one thing you have given us that goes beyond all material riches — eternal life. Lord let it be known that it’s not how much we have or how much we give, it’s that you have given us the great gifts of faith, love, and eternal life. Lord we thank you for your teachings and all that you have given us, even if it sometimes seems like small coins to us. Teach us to be generous with what we have, like the the story of the widow and her small coins. In your name we pray and give thanks. Amen.