Today’s post is from Benjamin Stewart, Gordon A. Braatz Associate Professor of Worship and Director of Advanced Studies at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.

Death is currently enjoying a season of fashionability.

I don’t mean our mini-liturgical-season of November, with All Saints Day and end-of-the-world lectionary texts. I mean something that is changing in the wider culture.

From the #DeathPositive movement, to the pop mortician Caitlan Doughty channelling Morticia Addams, to gimmicks like pressing your loved one’s cremated remains into vinyl for your turntable, there are signs that the cool kids have noticed that death practices are due for some rethinking.

Some things are on the way out. The SUV-style casket, the antiseptic funeral home, and the astroturfed grave are in decline. Even the dead body itself is disappearing from American death rituals. Theologian Thomas Long wryly observes that the dead are increasingly “banned from their own funeral.”

Where are we headed in death practices?

There’s a lot of noise in the cultural system now, but it may be that we are — in the old words of our tradition — returning to the earth. Increasing numbers of people are looking for death rituals that speak honestly about both earthly life and earthly death, and honor the body and its return to the earth in God.

This four minute video, The Coffinmaker, shows that even a simple wood coffin can lead us into the heart of theology and spirituality. (It would be easy to have 30 minutes of discussion on this video sometime during this little season of November, perhaps as part of a larger session or series.)

If you’re looking for inspiring help in navigating — and even shaping — this new era of death practices, I highly recommend this new book: In Sure and Certain Hope: a funeral sourcebook.

Worth the price alone:

• articles on how to work with funeral homes (or to forgo them)
• specific diversity and cultural considerations
• planning resources — including helps for especially difficult deaths like suicide, the death of a child, or a funeral that occurs in a public spotlight
• how to offer a natural burial ministry
• a four-week course you can offer on spirituality and planning for death and funerals
• up-to-date theological and historical overviews of funeral and death practices
• three pages of film recommendations
• e-versions of many of the resources are included

I’ve only highlighted a few things from this significant (280 page) book that offers a welcome mix of seasoned experts and emerging voices among its authors.

We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. But there’s at least a fog bank of goofiness out there too. This new resource helps us do some sorting, discerning what we might welcome for this era, what we might let go, and what continues to promise abundant life even in the face of death as we return to the earth.

One of the questions churches ask is: what does the church need to know so as not to have problems with copyright? It is an important question and it is a complicated one, too. Churches often print or display content for education, to inform the congregation of events, and as an aid in worship. When they do, if any of that information is under copyright, the church may be liable for copyright infringement. While this might not seem like a big issue, and while it may be very unlikely that a church will ever get caught and punished for that infringement, the fines are huge, and the consequences are real.

For churches with questions about how to comply with copyright law, Augsburg Fortress has an archived webinar on copyright: Churches and Copyright: How to be a weekend publisher without going to prison. The webinar, presented by Augsburg Fortress’ Copyright Specialist Michael Moore (pictured), takes about an hour, and deals with copyrights, licenses, and the rights and responsibilities of churches when it comes to how to license content the church would like to use, but which is under copyright.

The webinar is available on demand at www.afwebinars.org under the heading “Youth and Adult On Demand” or directly here. Select “register now” and enter your information then select “view” to take you to the webinar. Happy viewing!

Today’s post is from Krehl Stringer, pastor at New Salem Lutheran in Turtle River, MN. This is the second in a series on why and how to initiate celebrating a Season of Creation in worship.

A good place to begin planning a Season of Creation is with a 4-, 5-, or 6-week series of lectionary readings—there are a variety of 3-year lectionaries to choose from.  The period from September 1 (the beginning of “Creation Time” in the Eastern Orthodox tradition) to October 4 (the Feast of St. Francis in the Roman Catholic (western) tradition) has become the ecumenical standard for introducing a Season of Creation into the church year. Local conditions, however, may indicate a better timeframe, or a congregation might select individual Sundays throughout the year. Themes on Sundays during creation time draw worshipers’ attention to various domains or aspects of creation (e.g., planet earth, wilderness, humanity, river, and world communion). At New Salem we have also added in an “Advocacy Sunday” each year to amplify particular callings for eco-justice (e.g., Fire/Energy Stewardship, Food/Water Security, and Sustainability).

There are many places online to access free worship resources for planning a Season of Creation.  To start, check out Lutherans Restoring Creation, Let All Creation Praise , and Season of Creation. Calls to worship, hymns, blessings, lectionaries, preaching commentaries, prayers, artwork, videos, and much more will ignite that spark of creativity in pastors and other worship planners to invite all of creation into worship and praise of God the Creator, Healer, and Sustainer of life.

Interspersed throughout this blogpost are several pictures from churches where we have celebrated a Season of Creation.  The idea is that a congregation would get to know the environment in which they have been planted, then develop a multi-faceted Season of Creation that reflects the local character of that context.  For example, in northern Minnesota in the fall, the tamarack trees burst into a bright golden yellow. So our church adopted tamarack yellow as the color for our Season of Creation; paraments, stoles, and banners were beautifully crafted. The night sky of rural northern Minnesota is spectacular, so during the week of Cosmos Sunday, we hosted a couple star parties open to the public.  The Saturday before Fauna Sunday, we held an annual Blessing of the Animals ceremony. One year, we invited parishioners to contribute to a progressive Season of Creation Art Gallery that by the end of the season had photos, paintings, sculpture, fiber arts, and mixed-media on display.  Special guests were often invited to preach or give a presentation after worship on various themes; opportunities were promoted for learning more about community supported agriculture, local recycling programs, political lobbying efforts, bird watching, prayer hikes, and so much more.

For any congregation, engaging a Season of Creation can be a profoundly revitalizing (and exciting!) experience for all generations in discovering how, “in Christ, there is a new creation [to explore and celebrate]: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!” (2Cor. 5:17)

It would be a great joy for me to hear from you your stories of celebrating a Season of Creation in your place of worship.  You can reach me by email at lightstringer2@gmail.com.

Today’s post is from Krehl Stringer, pastor at New Salem Lutheran in Turtle River, MN. It is the first in a two part series on why and how to celebrate a Season of Creation in congregational worship.

In a little drawer atop my dresser, there’s a post-it note on which I had written (some time ago I can’t remember when) two Hebrew words:  abad and shamar.  These two little words contain the essence of humanity’s purpose according to Genesis 2:15—“The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.”  At least that’s how most all of our English translations render this passage, but the words abad and shamar have a much richer, deeper meaning than what “till” and “keep” convey. Better is “serve” and “preserve,” which translation places humanity in extreme subservience to all that God has made, not in the more dignified dominion-bearing role we might prefer for creatures esteemed to be created “in God’s image” (Genesis 1:27), and “a little lower than God” (Psalm 8:5). Were we to allow subservience to capture the essence of what it means for us to be created in God’s image, how might this better conform us to Christ who was “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15), and “came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many?” (Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45) Celebrating a Season of Creation can be an inspirational season of creativity when people learn to write abad and shamar in their own hand, allowing these words of Christ day by day to dwell in them richly (Colossians 3:16), and so remember their baptisms when they were clothed in Christ (Galatians 3:27), and born anew in the image of their creator (Colossians 3:10).

So how might a congregation begin to embrace and reflect the image of a church fully engaged in Christ’s mission: reconciling all things to God?  (Colossians 1:20) A congregation might proceed with its perceived strengths in ministry (focusing, for example, on adopting earth-friendly practices in the work of Stewardship, Pastoral Care, Social Justice, Education, Fellowship, or Property).  But my recommendation would be for a congregation to start with Worship, recognizing that for Lutherans, “worship stands at the center of our life of faith. Through God’s word, water, bread and prayer we are nurtured in faith and sent out into the world.” (www.ELCA.org/worship)  Imagine how a congregation’s core identity might be shaped and its gospel mission expanded by liturgical choices that honored the diversity of ecological relationships in which the triune God has placed human beings as created co-creators, co-healers, and co-sustainers with God.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this post which will offer concrete ideas for celebrating a Season of Creation in your congregational setting.

Today’s post is from Ben Blobaum, Program Director at the Inside Out Network in Chicago, IL.

Prisons are places where profound spiritual growth is occurring. In fact, many men and women in prison are thriving spiritually, their faith tested and forged in the crucible of incarceration. For those inmates who allow the experience to pierce their illusions of self-sufficiency, incarceration holds up a mirror, exposing one’s truest and deepest need: mercy. Many turn to Jesus with that explicit plea.

By its announcement of God’s mercy, the gospel of Jesus Christ sets the captives free. Paradoxically, some of the freest people I have ever met are currently locked in prison cells. Though physically confined, their hearts and spirits soar, weightless, into the unending expanse of the infinite God. Doxological worship is the natural expression of one who has been set free.

Who, having received of the riches of God’s grace, can keep from singing?

Worship is not only a response to freedom in Christ; it is a necessary condition for it, if freedom is to be sustained. Volunteers from local congregations can play a vital role in the life of the church “on the inside,” by leading even simple elements of worship, incorporating Scripture, prayer, and song. The principle aim is to develop a format that nearly anyone in your congregation is capable to lead. Musical instruments can be a nice touch, but they are optional (it’s easier to clear security without them anyway). Leading songs a cappella in call-and-response fashion is really quite effective, and, logistically efficient, as it eliminates the need for distribution of lyric sheets.

Many prisoners know both their deep need for mercy and the extravagant abundance of which they have received.

Experience and know-how are not essential (both will develop over time); the key imperative is a willing heart. Worship is our response (prayer and song) to God’s Word (Scripture). Music, especially, is uniquely able to invoke and elevate the human spirit, expressing what is beyond the reach of spoken words. Many prisoners know both their deep need for mercy and the extravagant abundance of which they have received. Should you have the privilege of participating in, or leading, worship with prisoners, just wait ‘til you hear them sing!

If you or others from your congregation are interested in the opportunity to lead worship in a correctional setting, or if you would like to learn more about prison ministry and visitation, please feel free to contact Ben Blobaum or Pastor Fred Nelson of Inside Out Network (ION). Inside Out Network is a congregation-based prison and re-entry ministry in Chicago that seeks to address the missed connection between “returning citizens” and the local church. Or, to connect with a prison ministry in your area, contact your synod office, or your local Prison Fellowship representative.

Today’s post is from John Michael Longworth, OEF, Pastor at Good Shepherd Lutheran in Rutland, VT.

Good Shepherd Lutheran Church is nestled in the heart of Vermont’s Green Mountains in the small city of Rutland. Just downhill from ski areas like Killington and Pico, and a short drive from beautiful glacial lakes and the southern reaches of Lake Champlain, this picturesque community is surrounded by forest, farms and an array of wildlife. I like to imagine that it’s not that different from the hilly region that Francis of Assisi called home when he was called to rejuvenate the Church.

We have the good fortune of having a beautiful sanctuary, with stained glass windows celebrating the creation story, and also a peaceful outdoor chapel with a hand cut stone altar. The back drop for this worship space is an awe inspiring vista of the western slope of the Green Mountains. For several years, this outdoor chapel has been used during the summer months for a festive alternative liturgy called “Saturday Night on the Hill”. This lively outdoor service has included folk & blues music, Taize with live accompaniment, and favorite songs from our Synod’s camp.

Four years ago, the local Episcopal priest was not available to offer the blessing of the animals at our county Humane Society shelter and I was invited to fill in. It was a real joy. However, the following year the responsibility went to the newly arrived rector. Our worship team decided to make use of our incredible setting and the exceptional foliage that is often present at the beginning of October to host one last Saturday Night on the Hill which included a blessing of the animals.

In addition to the fun that barks, meows and caws add to worship, this event is a great way each year to celebrate the stewardship of creation. At the same time, it is an opportunity to share about Francis of Assisi and the Order of Ecumenical Franciscans (www.oeffranciscans.org), to which I belong. Last year we expanded the celebration by hosting this worship jointly with our brothers and sisters of the Rutland United Methodist Church. Their pastor, The Rev. Hannah K. Rogers helped to lead the worship.

I firmly believe that our call to preach the Gospel extends beyond the people in our pews in a typical week. A blessing of the animals is a wonderful way to share love with our neighbors, the furred and feathered ones, and the loving families who bring them.