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Decorate Rose Parade Floats
Volunteers Needed for Decorating Rose Parade Floats by CHAD FIX
For millions of people around the world, watching the iconic Rose Parade on television is an annual New Year’s Day tradition. Is seeing the parade in person one of the items on your “bucket list”? You can create lifelong memories by traveling to Pasadena, California, later this year to not only watch the 2022 parade, but to serve as a volunteer helping decorate a float.
Registration is now open to serve as a Petal Pushers volunteer for the 2022 parade. The Petal Pushers, a group of thousands of volunteers who decorate the Lutheran Hour Ministries (LHM) float and several others each year, will begin decorating floats on the three Saturdays prior to Christmas (Dec. 4, 11 and 18) and will then be working two shifts a day Dec. 26-31 until the floats are completed.
Individuals ages 13 and older are eligible to participate, making this a great opportunity for individuals, families, seniors, youth groups, fellowship groups, school classes, and Boy/ Girl Scout troops. Volunteers spend the week between Christmas and New Year’s attaching thousands of roses, carnations, lilies, mums, and other flowers, as well as natural materials such as seeds, coffee beans, and leaves, to create the majestic beauty and splendor of the floral floats traveling down Pasadena’s Colorado Boulevard.
“Crew chiefs direct the volunteers who arrive daily and are ultimately responsible for making sure that their float is decorated correctly and completed on time,” says Lynn Gast, Petal Pushers Chairman. “It takes around 5,000 eight-hour shifts to do the dry and floral work necessary to complete the floats, so people of all skill levels are needed. Crew chiefs assign the jobs and teach people what to do and how to do it.”
Volunteers may work as little as one shift or as many as they want. Only about 40 individuals are needed for the LHM float, so the majority of Petal Pushers decorate other floats for the parade, which brings in funds to lower the cost of the LHM float.
“Working on a variety of floats allows our volunteers to work side-by-side with people from many different backgrounds, believers and nonbelievers alike, turning the week into one of the largest servant events in the country,” says Dick Gast, Chairman of the LHM Float Committee. “It’s an opportunity for many to make new friends, network, and share expressions of the faith that for them gives true meaning to this experience. Lynn and I are honored to be able to lead this multi-prong witnessing opportunity each year.”
As a result of last year’s postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2022 parade will feature all elements planned for 2021 under the theme of “Dream, Believe. Achieve.”, including the LHM float entry, “Jesus Teaches.” The LHM float is the only Christian float in each year’s parade and carries on a mission of providing a Gospel witness to viewers everywhere, from along the parade route to televisions worldwide.
The LHM float is a self-funded project of the Lutheran Hour Ministries Float Committee and the Southern California District of the International Lutheran Laymen’s League. The committee’s ongoing work is funded primarily by generous donations from Christian friends and multiple fundraising activities and is not included in LHM’s operating budget.
Visit petalpushers.org for more information about the Petal Pushers, or to register to decorate. Information can also be found on the site about the two tour options that the LHM Float Committee is sponsoring through Luther Tours. =
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Concordia Lutheran Ministries’ Grant Provides Booklets to Senior Care Centers by PAUL SCHREIBER
Lutheran senior care centers in a number of states are benefitting from a grant from Concordia Lutheran Ministries (CLM). The grant, which has been provided to Lutheran Hour Ministries, will place Project Connect display stands filled with topical booklets in locations where people are already struggling with life issues, which have been compounded by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Project Connect booklets cover a wide variety of subjects in both English and Spanish. They offer Christ-centered words of spiritual comfort and hope on topics such as faith, relationships, anxiety, marriage, priorities, outreach, emotional issues, parenting, caregiving, and more. Booklets can be downloaded and printed for free, and many are available as MP3 files for easy listening.
As pandemic constraints gradually ease up, Project Connect resources are making their way to locations, but it’s taken time. “It has been challenging since January 2021 due to COVID-19 restrictions to distribute Project Connect displays and booklets to Lutheran senior care centers,” said Lois Engfehr, LHM’s grants manager. “We are extremely thankful for the grant and the opportunity to share our resources in these facilities,” she added.
Because of this grant, LHM has so far distributed Project Connect display stands and booklets to 28 Lutheran senior care centers on the eastern seaboard, Ohio, and Florida, including various locations where Concordia Lutheran Ministries has facilities. Additionally, a number of
Lutheran churches also helped distribute display stands and booklets to Lutheran senior care centers in their area.
“Getting Project Connect booklets into retirement communities and skilled nursing centers is an excellent use of this valuable LHM resource. Placed in these locations, they not only reach residents and staff, but they’re also handy to visiting family and friends, who often have a lot of time on their hands,” said Jennifer Prophete, director of community programming for LHM.
Concordia Lutheran Ministries of Cabot, Pennsylvania, is a ministry of service and caring with a 140-year history. Its Vision Statement, “Serving the Triune God by providing for the needs of His people,” informs its day-to-day operations and motivates its employees in the care they provide. You can learn more about CLM by visiting its website at www.concordialm.org.
To learn more about Project Connect booklets and the ways you can use them in your community, go to our website at lhm.org/projectconnect. There you will find the complete list of booklets, our illustrated kids’ booklets, information on display stand options, our mobile app to access booklets anywhere, a helpful Q&A section, MP3 files, and more. =
LHM Staff Present at LCMS Youth Workers Conference by MEGAN MCDANIEL
Lutheran Hour Ministries staff attended and presented at the LCMS National Youth Workers Conference held July 11-14 in Houston, Texas. The National Lutheran Youth Workers Conference (#NATIONAL21) is a standalone Youth Ministry practitioner conference, but also provides a wonderful opportunity to prepare for the 2022 LCMS Youth Gathering. With around 400 people in attendance, this conference offered a great opportunity to reach individuals with new resources and training.
LHM hosted an exhibit booth and four presentations at this conference. “LHM staff enjoyed chatting about Spiritual Conversations in the Digital Age, Households of Faith, and other relevant life topics, especially as they relate to Gen Z, at the booth and within the presentations,” says Nicole Heerlein, associate director of strategic engagement for LHM.
Rev. Dr. Chad Lakies, LHM’s regional director for North America, hosted sessions titled “How NOT to Let Issues Prevent Relationships” and “How to ‘Find Yourself’ in a Secular Age.” Both of these sessions were presented in front of standing-room-only audiences.
“At LHM, we teach people how to discern the posture of their audience so that they can better share Jesus with them,” says Dr. Lakies. “Understanding our cultural context is critical for how we present the Gospel. In our exceedingly polarized culture where many people are immersed in constant encouragement to live in a way that’s true to themselves, talking about religion—much less sharing the Gospel—is really challenging. I was glad for God to use me to help people find a few ‘cracks in the secular’ through which to shine the light of Jesus, especially in the lives of young people.”
Dionne Lovstad-Jones, LHM’s regional ministry facilitator, hosted sessions titled “Spiritual Coaching: Everyone Can Embrace a Vibrant Household” and “The Digital Voice of Youth Matters.”
“The great thing about presenting ‘spiritual coaching’ from our Households of Faith material is sharing that anyone—no matter what age or season of life—can be in a coaching role,” says Lovstad-Jones. “From time to time each of us finds ourselves in a spiritual conversation dilemma (being in a conversation with someone who is not Christian having to figure out what to say). These kinds of dilemmas can become even more intense, troublesome, or obscure when we respond to someone in digital spaces. Understanding that each young person can model behavior, respond in the moment, and plan for how, when, and what to say online empowers them to live out their Christian calling as friends, role models, and examples of what it means to follow Jesus.”
In addition to having a presence at national events like the LCMS National Youth Workers Conference, for congregational, district, and regional events LHM staff offer live and virtual workshops on relevant, research-based topics that help to equip Christians within their ministry outreach settings and households. To request an LHM speaker for your event, visit lhm.org/requestaspeaker. Requests should be submitted at least six months prior to your event. =
The Power of a Spiritually Vibrant Home by MEGAN MCDANIEL
Reverend Jim Witt from Lititz, Pennsylvania, shared how he has used this core message from LHM’s Households of Faith resources in his own household for many years.
Witt shares, “As my wife and I listened to the sermon reflections on The Lutheran Hour last September, we had some reflections of our own messy prayers, loud tables, and open doors from 1981. We remembered our family of eight sitting around our table in our small kitchen in Wyoming.
“One year, an itinerant worker came to our church around Christmas time. He was from Germany and having learned that he was alone, we invited this man to share Christmas with our family. He spent an enjoyable time with our kids and even brought them a few small gifts. Our open-door hospitality resulted in a memorable Christmas that year.
“A few years later, our older daughter who worked at a fast-food restaurant met someone who had no place to go for Christmas. She asked us, ‘can he come to our home for Christmas’ and our response was, ‘yes.’ Another Christmas season and another stranger in our home. It was the beginning of a friendship that continues today. We live too far apart to visit, but we do keep in touch. Not long ago he told us, ‘The times I spent in your home showed me what it was to be a family.’
“Earlier in our marriage we opened our doors to Native American families while we lived on the reservation, and they reciprocated. Many hours were spent with coffee cups and conversation. Later in our marriage it was open doors with Laotian families who worked at the meat packing plant, and they 15 decks of cards to share with his core family that is scattered across the United States. The households in this family range from a single- person to multi-generational households and even dorm rooms!
Witt plans to send a deck of cards
to his family members with a letter from him explaining the goal of this activity. The family will be invited to join a group text that will help them all communicate with each other in one place. Every two weeks or so, a card will be selected from the deck to start a conversation in the text. Family members are encouraged to join, but there is no pressure if someone chooses to not respond to a particular card.
Witt emphasized the “purpose for this activity is prominent in the reflections from that September sermon. The many miles that separate our homes does not mean we can’t ‘stop by’ for a visit. Using God’s gift of ‘techno doors’ and with His blessing, we pray this will be a means for the Holy Spirit to nurture a more vibrant faith in the members of our extended household.”
Before sharing the materials with his entire family, Witt gave a deck of cards to his oldest son and younger daughter while they were together for a visit. His daughter says, “I really like the materials and invitation for the family. It would be great if some of the nieces and nephews would join in as well.”
When Witt was reading through The Spiritually Vibrant Home, he had the idea to use a 3x5 notecard as a bookmark. When he came across something he wanted to revisit later, he made a note of it on his “bookmark” so he could go back and dig deeper. He recognized that the book supported what his family was already doing, and they could identify with so many of the different types of households described in the book. From lodging 17 people and hosting 25 or so in their house for Christmas, to playing card games at the table after dinner, they were encouraged by the Households of Faith materials and the September 2020 broadcasts of The Lutheran Hour.
Visit lhm.org/households to find timely resources that will help you nurture a spiritually vibrant home. =
reciprocated. Most recently we were involved with a small Hispanic church in Nebraska where we were informed, “Now you are in our family.” Reflecting on open doors resulted in many ministry memories during our marriage.”
Following the teaching in The Spiritually Vibrant Home book (page 132), Witt realized the best way to start spiritual conversations in his household is to start with “light fare.” Light fare to the Witt family comes in the form of LHM’s Vibrant Conversation Decks. Witt ordered
Spring “Devo Challenge” Encourages Use of Project Connect Booklet
by PAUL SCHREIBER
Recently, some 40-plus LHM Ambassadors signed up for our “30 Days of Devotions Challenge.” The goal was a modest one: to encourage Ambassadors to gather a small group, members of their congregation or their family, and to meet virtually or in person for a time of daily devotions, each day in May. Group leaders received an LHM mug as well as FREE devotion booklets for each member of their group. In all, more than 400 participants took the challenge.
The booklet used was 30 Days of Household Devotions by Dr. Kari Vo, theological writer for LHM. It’s a Project Connect booklet in the Spiritual Reflections category. Each message is anchored with a Bible verse and concludes with a prayer and three reflection questions. For those new to doing devotions, the booklet begins with some handy pointers on using them to get into God’s Word on a daily basis.
The 30-day challenge was met in different ways, depending on circumstances and the restraints imposed by the pandemic. “We distributed the devotions to our men’s group that meets monthly and asked members to individually complete them. The devotions were good, and the few extra copies were placed in our church’s Project Connect rack,” said one responder.
One pastor from Michigan who is a frequent user of LHM resources and serves as LHM Ambassador to other churches in his area said he used the booklet on weekends, as part of a devotional service. “The 30day devotional booklet was good,” he said. “I hope LHM continues to provide many products at no cost.”
After posting a flyer and an announcement about the 30-day challenge, a pastor in Pittsburgh passed the booklets out during church services. He saw to it that every week in May the Tuesday prayer warriors, the Wednesday Bible study class, and the Thursday bell choir group took time to talk about the messages. This was done at three churches: Zion Lutheran Church, Bethel Lutheran Church, and St. John’s Lutheran Church in the Pittsburgh area. He also distributed some booklets to a long-term care facility, assisting a woman there to lead a group in the challenge.
If you’re interested in doing devotions, or you would like to see your Bible study group do them, LHM’s 30 Days of Household Devotions is a great place to begin. These inspirational messages will inspire your faith and help you establish a regular habit of reading God’s Word. You can find out more by going to lhm.org/projectconnect. =
Planting Gospel Seeds for Generations to Come
by KATE HUMMEL
Recently I had the opportunity to speak with Gary Gross. He is a 76-year-old father who retired to eastern Tennessee with his late wife, Michelle, and is a proud member of The Hoffmann Society, a group of around 3,000 dedicated Christians who have provided for Lutheran Hour Ministries beyond their own lifetime through a planned gift. I wanted to talk to him about his motivation to leave LHM in his will and his involvement with our mission and ministry.
After spending the first 60-plus years of his life in Florida, Gary moved to a small town in eastern Tennessee, just an hour from Knoxville, where he enjoys harvesting his fresh tomatoes and enjoying the beautiful scenery Tennessee has to offer. After retirement, he knew it was nearing the time in his life where he would need to start thinking about where he would want to leave his legacy.
Like other members of The Hoffmann Society, Gary has a desire to share Christ with people in neighborhoods and around the world, a passion for ministry programs that reach out to people in new and different ways than ever before, and a vision of the next generation hearing the Gospel message. When Gary made the important decision to leave LHM in his will, he knew he would be contributing to an organization that has impacted so much throughout his years.
“I look forward to reading the Daily Devotions from LHM every single day, they are one of the ways I start my mornings with the Lord,” Gary explained. Each Sunday, Gary also listens to The Lutheran Hour before he heads to worship at his home church. It was clear that his Christcentered life had supported and utilized the resources from our organization for many years.
Like many, Gary doesn’t want there to be a burden surrounding the details of his legacy when he goes home to the Lord. “I don’t want to have to worry about my children having to deal with any of these things, and plus it is a great tax benefit,” he says.
His decision to leave LHM in his will comes alongside his involvement with his own church and other charities he supports. By leaving his legacy with Lutheran Hour Ministries, Gary will continue to pour into our Gospel outreach for years to come and honor the mission we serve.
If you find yourself wondering how you can leave this same legacy as Gary, LHM would be honored to help you work through any questions you may have. To learn more about leaving LHM in your will, or how you can support LHM’s mission through other planned giving options, contact our team of ministry advancement counselors at 1-877-333-1963 or lhm-gift@lhm.org. =
Kate Hummel manages gift planning communications for LHM.
* Photos provided by the Gross family.
Two Small Words with a Big Impact
by KURT BUCHHOLZ, President & CEO, Lutheran Hour Ministries
While the last year and a half has challenged all of us in our personal, family, congregational, and professional realms, Lutheran Hour Ministries has been able to quickly adapt to this changing world. Through the grace of God and the dedicated work of our talented staff and volunteers, what a blessing it has been to be able to put our efforts towards expanding our global impact and reaching ever more people with the hope and comfort of the Gospel!
Let’s not forget that, while many other organizations are having trouble surviving and are being forced to shrink their ministry, we are growing. Why is that? I believe it is because we are focused on the ministry before us rather than that of the past, that we are seeking a true assessment of what we are accomplishing and changing when necessary, and that we are connecting in meaningful ways with the hearts and minds of our constituency. This may sound simple, but it is not. If it was simple, everyone else would be doing the same thing. We could not accomplish half of this without a staff of gifted people keeping their eye on the goal and the ongoing generous support from people like you.
Our Senior Vice President/ Chief Strategy Officer Jeff Craig-Meyer often reminds us that people need to hear “Thank You” seven times before the message gets through. In that spirit … ♥ THANK YOU for being a member of the LHM family. ♥ THANK YOU for the prayers and encouragement you provide for our LHM staff and volunteers around the world. ♥ THANK YOU for your continuous financial support as we respond to a changing world with a changeless message. ♥ THANK YOU for remembering
LHM in your estate plans to ensure that future generations continue to hear God’s Word. ♥ THANK YOU for your unwavering passion to share the hope of Jesus with a hurting world. ♥ THANK YOU for being an advocate in your church and community, ensuring that LHM resources share the message of salvation with as many people as possible. ♥ THANK YOU for using your personal gifts with the people God has put in your path and for acting with the courage He gives you to share His words and acts of love. =
“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the Gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” – PHILIPPIANS 1:3-6
