Lutherans ENGAGE the WORLD March – April 2016, Vol. 4, Issue 4
Lutherans
ENGAGE the WORLD March – April 2016
vol. 4, no. 4
inspire
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Grafting Hispanic Roots on the Lutheran Tree
Home Is Where the (Learning By) Heart Is
Mercy Medical Teams: Balm for the Body, Encouragement for the Soul Help and Hope in Desperate Circumstances
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8 Engaging the Church in the work of witness and mercy across the globe in our life together. LUTHERANS ENGAGE THE WORLD is published bi-monthly by The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. © 2016 The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Reproduction for parish use does not require permission. Such reproductions, however, should credit LUTHERANS ENGAGE THE WORLD as a source. Print editions are sent to LCMS donors, rostered workers and missionaries. An online version is available (lcms.org/lutheransengage). To receive the print edition, we invite you to make a financial gift for LCMS global witness and mercy work. Unless otherwise noted, all photos are property of the LCMS. 888-THE LCMS (843-5267) lcms.org
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
engage BEARING MERCIFUL FRUIT “He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season.” (Ps. 1:3)
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Striving and Rejoicing Under God's Abundant Grace
10 Questions
LCMS Disaster Response Partners with Missouri Churches in Flood Relief
involve 10 21
The Family Altar
We're Good at … What?
S TA F F David L. Strand Pamela J. Nielsen Erica Schwan Megan K. Mertz Erik M. Lunsford Lisa Moeller Annie Monette Chrissy Thomas
executive director, communications executive editor director, design services managing editor/staff writer manager, photojournalism designer designer designer
EDITORIAL OFFICE 314-996-1215 1333 S. Kirkwood Road St. Louis, MO 63122-7295 lutheransengage@lcms.org lcms.org/lutheransengage
Trees bearing fruit — planted in the waters of Holy Baptism, fed by God’s life-giving and forgiving Word — are mercy-bearing trees. Where does one find such trees? You, dear reader, have only to look in the mirror to see such a magnificent tree! Our Lord works through you in the many vocations in which He has placed you, including your vocation as a member of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Through your prayers, your service and your offerings to your local congregation and to the Synod for our collective witness and mercy work, you are bearing marvelous fruit. This issue of Lutherans Engage the World tells stories of witness and mercy — particularly the ongoing work through the church and in the home where “trees” are watered and then naturally bear merciful fruit. You’ll read about a congregation in Wisconsin where the culture of catechesis and prayer flowing from parish altar to family altar in members’ homes has produced a forest of fruit-bearing trees in their life together. When too much water flooded communities this past Christmas, trees loaded with merciful fruit responded with prayers, donations and volunteer service — an amazing effort that continues even as you read about it in these pages. You’ll learn how a pastor and vicar are planting trees of faith and watering them with God’s Word amongst a Hispanic population in Sheboygan, Wis., even as they are revitalizing an entire community. Equipped with medical supplies, medicines and hearts eager to care for others, Mercy Medical Teams provide body-and-soul care in remote areas of the world. There’s much more than these few pages can contain! All of these stories, by God’s grace, are of your faithful fruit-bearing as you stand alongside tall trees of faith in this forest we call the Church. Thanks be to God! In Christ, Pamela J. Nielsen Associate Executive Director, LCMS Communications
Cover image: Elizabeth Vogt sings with the choir during worship at Peace Lutheran Church in Sussex, Wis. PHOTO: LCMS COMMUNICATIONS/ERIK M. LUNSFORD
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Our team is loaded with “A-listers”: men and women, laity and clergy whose expertise, strengths and skills, wisdom and experiences are of the highest caliber in both churchly and secular realms. Yet one senses very little in the way of celebrity or entitlement among this humble warrior band. These brothers and sisters find their mission motivation deeply rooted in Christ’s Gospel, a treasure to be shared freely in witness. Every one of them has sacrificed significantly to fulfill their vocation. They work hard. They are doggedly determined stewards of God’s gifts, continually tending to the responsibilities and resources that they have been given to manage. They are striving, “[fighting] the good fight of the faith” (1 Tim. 6:12), but not to merit God’s favor — for that is already theirs, solely by God’s doing. In the pattern of Jesus, they are delivering His mercy in heart-melting compassion, kindness and love for their neighbor. In response to disasters such as tornadoes and floods, in the care of persecuted Christian
and Muslim refugees, on Mercy Medical Teams and in numerous other instances, they are participating in the advance of God’s kingdom and Christ’s crushing defeat of Satan. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12). My co-workers are the lively embodiment of that wonderful scriptural exhortation: “Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Heb. 10:24–25). The time is now; we work the works of God who has called us while it is day, for we know the night is coming when no one can work (John 9:4). I heartily invite you to keep encouraging, striving and laboring with us under His abounding grace! In Christ,
Rev. Kevin D. Robson Chief Mission Officer, The Lutheran Church— Missouri Synod
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Striving and Rejoicing UNDER GOD’S ABUNDANT GRACE
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PHOTO: ISTOCK/THINKSTOCK
PHOTO: LCMS COMMUNICATIONS/ERIK M. LUNSFORD
love the co-workers with whom I am privileged to labor daily at the LCMS International Center, as well as those in every corner of our Synod and those we partner with around the world. To be sure, we are all flawed, poor, miserable sinners — yet nevertheless, we are declared holy and righteous, perfectly forgiven for the sake of Jesus’ atoning self-sacrifice upon His cross. Our mightiest exertions might yield utter triumph, abject failure or disinterested yawns, depending on the situation. That’s OK; God’s will is done. Never too distant are sincere congratulations and mocking ridicule in the courts of public opinion. Some “wins,” some “losses” accumulate — and along the way, the surprises and wonders, the flubs and setbacks occasionally may cause elated high-fives, sleepless exhaustion, tears of frustration or outbursts of self-deprecating laughter. We constantly retreat into God’s Word to regain our footing. We pray, at work and back at home with our families. Even in the midst of hardships, there is an infectious spirit of rejoicing. And let it be said again that God is overwhelmingly good!
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WITH PROFESSOR
BEN FREUDENBURG by Megan K. Mertz
“My mother instilled in me ‘I can do all things through him who strengthens me’ and ‘I am with you always, to the end of the age.’” Since Professor Ben Freudenburg came to Concordia University, Ann Arbor, Mich., (CUAA) 10 years ago to start the Family Life Education program, more than 130 future workers have been trained to go into churches and communities to provide preventive education to help families weather the storms of life. Freudenburg — a husband, father of two and a certified director of Christian education — also is the director of the Concordia Center for the Family and the founder of Family Friendly Partners Network, a ministry that helps raise the capacity of churches to have strong family ministries.
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hy is teaching the faith at home W so important? The church has an hour or two on Sunday, maybe another hour during the week. But that’s not nearly enough to shape [children’s] values and hearts and grow the faith given them at Baptism.
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What is the family’s role in faith formation? The family is one of the institutions God created to produce faithful generations. God gave parents a biblical mandate to teach the faith to their children. If the family is not thriving, it is less likely to produce another generation of godly men and women.
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And the church’s role? The task God has given to the church is to help parents have all they need in order to fulfill the biblical mandate as the primary teachers of faith to their children. lcms.org/givenow/globalmission
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What do you see happening in society today? Research indicates that in every generation there are fewer Christians. It is predicted that only about 4 percent of millennials will be Christ-followers as they enter the adult world.
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How does CUAA’s Family Life Education program prepare future workers to serve families? Just like a teacher is prepared to teach math or science to students, family life educators are prepared to do preventive education to help build into families the strengths needed to survive the storms of family life. Every family meets many challenges; [the difference] is whether they have the resources necessary to be an even stronger family when the storm is over.
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How can the church support families? A lot of people believe that when they get married, they have what they need to be good husbands, wives and parents. But it’s really a learned skill. … We need to put into place programs that are meeting needs in teaching the faith, home discipleship, marriage enrichment, good parenting skills and an understanding of human sexuality from a biblical view.
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Megan K. Mertz is managing editor of Lutherans Engage the World and a staff writer for LCMS Communications.
What pressures are families facing as they try to pass on the faith? The real pressure is to conform to the culture’s view of marriage and family instead of to Christ. How do we help individuals walk with Christ as they watch TV and use digital tools? How do we help families resist the pressure to conform to a nonbiblical standard like living together before marriage?
What are some ways parents can reinforce faith? Make faith a natural part of conversation. Do simple things like family faith talk at the dinner table and saying prayers together. We seldom sit down as a family anymore, so it’s really hard to implement. We must make time for spiritual formation and conversation.
Why is this so important? God gave us a Savior, Jesus, to take the punishment for our sin so we could be in a relationship with Him. But there’s more: He gave us faith at our Baptism to believe it. And He didn’t stop there; He gave us the possibility to be in godly families and churches to nurture that faith. As the stability of our Christian families continues to be threatened, the church needs to help the family be all that God wants it to be.
Do you have a favorite Bible verse? I have many. My mother instilled in me “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” [Phil. 4:13] and “I am with you always, to the end of the age” [Matt. 28:20]. That’s the one I grab onto when things get really tough. Every day in my own devotions, God brings new passages to life that give me hope.
Learn more: cuaa.edu/programs/familylife concordiacenterforthefamily.org familyfriendlypn.com March–April 2016
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LCMS DISASTER RESPONSE PARTNERS WITH MISSOURI CHURCHES IN
flood relief
by Roger Drinnon
As district and local disaster responders continue recovery efforts following flooding across the Midwest in late December, two St. Louis-area congregations have partnered with LCMS Disaster Response to help nearby communities rebuild.
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looding from swelling waterways like the Missouri, Mississippi and Meramec Rivers impacted communities surrounding St. Louis and throughout Missouri. Prior to the storms, some insurance companies purportedly had identified certain residents as being ineligible for or not requiring home flood insurance. “It is hard to witness the effects of flooding on families and communities,” said the Rev. Dr. R. Lee Hagan, Missouri District president. “However, we always stand ready to serve our neighbors in need and to speak about the hope that is ours in Christ Jesus.” Hagan said hundreds of Missouri families have severely damaged homes, and at least 100 homes were totally destroyed by the flooding.
Generosity Reaches Flood Victims As disaster responders from the affected districts and LCMS Disaster Response assessed the flood-stricken regions to help where needed most, the Synod approved disbursement of more than $120,000 in grants and other aid for
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immediate relief in the hardestsuffering communities and congregations. Affected LCMS congregations across the Midwest received grants not only for helping those within their congregations but also for ongoing relief work in their surrounding communities. LCMS Disaster Response also distributed $6,000 in $100 gift cards to affected congregations across the Midwest to help people in their communities with basic necessities. “Thanks to all the people who are being so generous in the wake of these events, the LCMS Disaster Response team is able to come alongside districts and congregations as they minister to the communities hurt by these storms,” said the Rev. Bart Day, executive director of the Synod’s Office of National Mission. “Grants like these can’t happen apart from the generosity of people living out our Lord’s command to ‘love your neighbor.’”
Eureka Among those grants, St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Eureka, Mo., received $20,000
from the Synod to continue flood-relief work in Eureka and its neighboring communities. The congregation also received a $5,000 grant for its own disaster-response trailer, plus an additional $4,000 to purchase much-needed equipment and supplies for the trailer. “The need is great and goes far beyond restoring homes. People are emotionally devastated, which is an enormous opportunity for us to reach their hearts,” said the Rev. Robert Liebmann, associate pastor at St. Mark’s. “The work of restoring people’s homes puts us into their lives at a time when they are very open to the Gospel. We have the opportunity to listen to them, pray with them and share the love of the God who not only wants to restore their homes, but restore their hearts, lives and relationships with Himself.” Liebmann, who goes by “Pastor Bob,” said his congregation already has assessed and prioritized the needs in local communities and has negotiated a significant discount at a local home improvement store to make the grant money go even further. He said as he
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PHOTOS: LCMS COMMUNICATIONS/ERIK M. LUNSFORD
Volunteers from the LCMS International Center, LCMS Disaster Response and New Beginnings Lutheran Church in Pacific, Mo., came together Jan. 14 to clean up a flooded home in Fenton, Mo.
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Parishioner Barb Neels of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Fenton, Mo., walks through the basement of her flood-ravaged home. Water in Neels’ home reached to the basement ceiling.
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It is hard to witness the effects of “flooding on families and communities. However, we always stand ready to serve our neighbors in need and to
speak about the hope that is ours in Christ Jesus.
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— Rev. Dr. R. Lee Hagan, Missouri District president
gets to know more neighbors in the area, he is inspired by their resiliency in the aftermath of tragedy. “The impact of losing your home, your property and mementos of the past cannot be overstated. When faced with these losses, the reaction can be to shut down and grieve, but many did not,” he said. “They returned to their homes and went to work … They tore out ruined carpet, flooring, drywall and insulation; repaired the electrical systems and furnaces; cleaned out ductwork; and within a couple weeks of regaining access to their home, some were ready to rebuild.”
Pacific New Beginnings Lutheran Church in Pacific, Mo., was given a $10,000 grant to continue flood-relief work in Pacific and its surrounding communities. Like St. Mark’s, New Beginnings also received a $5,000 grant for its own disasterresponse trailer, plus an additional $4,000 to equip and supply the trailer. “Around 300 homes and businesses were flooded within our city, so we organized some disaster-response teams and went into our community and started ‘mucking out’ homes and preparing homes for rebuilding,” said Travis Torblaa, mission and ministry director at New Beginnings. “Now, we’ve branched out to Fenton, Missouri, to help the flood
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victims in this area as well. We are going into these homes every day, taking out all the [moldy, flood-damaged] debris — carpeting, flooring and walls right down to the studs.”
Synod Works Alongside Local Responders About 30 volunteers came together from the Synod’s International Center (IC) in St. Louis and from New Beginnings Jan. 14 to “muck out” a house in a low-lying area of Fenton that suffered significant flooding. “LCMS Disaster Response Director Rev. Ross Johnson and I had been meeting with the local churches in Eureka and Pacific,” said the Rev. Michael Meyer, LCMS Disaster Response manager. “They were sending out small teams to help flood victims in the area, so we met with [Day] to see if we could organize a workday for the LCMS and get some volunteers from the IC, because some of these places are in our backyard, within five to 10 miles of the IC.” “LCMS Disaster Response has been a tremendous blessing for us — both with resources and educating us how we can help others in the recovery process and also financially — we now have the funds for the recovery process,” Torblaa said. Liebmann echoed Torblaa’s sentiments.
“Early on, Pastor Ross Johnson showed up with a pickup truck full of supplies we really needed to effectively serve our community. He brought a generator, power-washers, [industrial vacuums], crowbars, hammers, shovels and other equipment,” Liebmann said. “They have also been wonderful with advice and encouragement as we work. LCMS Disaster Response has been a wonderful support in our efforts to love our neighbors.” “LCMS districts and congregations are the leaders in responding to these crises,” Johnson said. “Thanks to the kind, caring support across the Synod, LCMS Disaster Response is able to train and support districts and congregations while also building on their capacity not only in responding to a congregation’s needs but also in extending Christ’s mercy by providing body-and-soul care to entire communities.” Roger Drinnon is manager of Editorial Services for LCMS Communications. Learn more: LCMS Disaster Response: lcms.org/ disaster View the photo gallery: lcms.org/ photo/december-2015-floods
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Grafting
Hispanic Roots by Erik M. Lunsford
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ATAN TRIED TO STOP THE GOSPEL from spreading among the Hispanic population of rural Sheboygan, Wis., but thanks be to God, he failed. Instead, God sent Vicar David Blas, missionary at-large at LCMS Sheboygan County Hispanic Outreach and St. John’s Lutheran Church in nearby Plymouth, Wis., to expand Hispanic ministry in the area. Blas, 36, is Puerto Rican by birth, married with two sons and a role model for his classmates at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. Although he was raised in a Pentecostal environment, his faith came through hearing the Lutheran doctrine from a friend, continued through catechism study and finally led to his admittance in the seminary’s Center for Hispanic Studies program. Along the way, Blas said evil has tried to sideline his ministry. At one point, his roof caved in at his family’s apartment, destroying the majority of their possessions. Then one month into his seminary education, his wife was diagnosed with a brain tumor and needed surgery. She has since had a second tumor and a second surgery, but despite all,
Blas still believes you only give your best to God for His gifts graciously given. Now, his presence as vicar in Plymouth is evidence of the continuation of God’s invisible hand at work and the beginning of the end result of five local congregations coming together to ask, “Why are we here?” The Rev. Nathan Meador, senior pastor of St. John’s and Blas’ supervisor, said the answer to their question “came back very
estimates that there are about 115,000 residents in the county as of 2014, which includes bucolic Plymouth. St. John’s hired a consultant in December 2014, and from that renewal work they became a catalyst among the local congregations to engage the growing Hispanic population. The project went from idea to execution in 13 months. During that time, the congregations together lifted up Hispanic outreach,
We don’t have to come up with something new. What we have is the gold standard, the Gospel. — Rev. Nathan Meador Lutheran and very biblical. We are here for the sake of others.” There are 21 congregations in Sheboygan County, most dating back to German immigrants. The U.S. Census
paving the way through congregational, district and Synod support for the placement of a vicar in the community. The Rev. Dr. Carlos Hernandez, director of LCMS Church and Community
Vicar David Blas (left) witnesses to Hispanic community members in Plymouth, Wis.
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WITNESS MOMENT
on the
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Lutheran Tree just have to translate it into a culture of the world in the communities we’re already living in.” Those questions will be answered in God’s time. Erik M. Lunsford is manager of Photojournalism for LCMS Communications. V iew the photo gallery: lcms.org/photo/ hispanic-outreach-wisconsin
PHOTOS: LCMS COMMUNICATIONS/ERIK M. LUNSFORD
Engagement, said the work in Wisconsin is a perfect model of collaboration. To support the work, the Synod gave a small grant of $7,500. “This is a real example of the churches in the [Sheboygan] area, the two circuits, realizing the challenges of Hispanic ministry, and not only talking about it, but pulling the resources together,” Hernandez said. Blas’ love for the vocation is evident in his pastoral zeal. He witnesses in the community, striking up relationships in barbershops, Hispanic grocery stores, dairy farms and Mexican restaurants. “I preach the word,” Blas said, “but He’s the one who does the work. He touches the heart, touches the people, and He brought the people who need to be saved, not me. I’m just His voice, His hands and feet, and God has all the credit.” Still, Meador wrestles with challenges and questions of how the ministry will grow. It’s akin to “grafting Hispanic roots on the Lutheran tree,” he said. “We don’t have to come up with something new. What we have is the gold standard, the Gospel … we
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RAISING CHILDREN TO KEEP THEM IN THE FAMILY OF FAITH God comes to us through His Word and Sacraments during worship at church, and then the family’s devotional life at home keeps its members connected to those gifts all week long. This routine creates a lifelong rhythm that helps keep kids in the faith throughout all stages of their lives.
HOLD FAMI LY DEVOTIONS Use a simple order of worship to guide your family devotions. See Pages 294-298 in the Lutheran Service Book (LSB) for brief services for different times of the day.
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m a F a t l A lcms.org/givenow/globalmission
“Parents w
Repeat the hymns from Sunday throughout the week to make a connection between your daily prayer life and the Sunday Divine Service.
of children raised by parents who talked about faith at home, attached great importance to their beliefs and were active in their congregations were themselves religiously active as young adults, according to data from the latest wave of the National Study of Youth and Religion. “ P arents No. 1 influence helping teens remain religiously active as young adults” (Association of Religion Data Archives, 2014)
T H E E SS E N T IAL LU T H E RA N L I B RARY F O R T H E FA MI LY
nvolve
• The Story Bible • Faith Alive Student Bible • The Lutheran Study Bible • My First Catechism • Luther’s Small Catechism with Explanation • My First Hymnal • Lutheran Service Book
READ THE BIBLE Take turns reading Bible passages out loud. Use the “Daily Lectionary” (LSB, Pages 299-304) for suggested Bible readings for each day.
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TALK ABOUT LIVING IN FAITH
Use spare moments throughout the day — while in the car, while waiting in line and so on — to discuss faith issues. As children are able, start applying the Small Catechism to real-world events and conversations.
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All of these resources are available at cph.org
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Teach your child that the liturgy and hymns are part of their prayer life. God first speaks to us through His Word, and then we speak back with praise.
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Pray before meals and at bedtime.
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PRAY TOGETHER
TIPS
F O R FAMI LY D E VOTI ONS Set aside a specific time each day
Use a ribbon to indicate the color of the Church Year Consider lighting a candle Sing a hymn together March–April 2016
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PHOTOS: LCMS COMMUNICATIONS/ERIK M. LUNSFORD
 Elizabeth Vogt responds to a question during an evening devotion with her family. The Vogts are members of Peace Lutheran Church in Sussex, Wis.
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Home Is Where the Heart Is (LEARNING BY)
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Imagine: A church where everyone,
ages 2 to 102, is studying the same Bible verse. Or a school where the first-graders and eighth-graders have learned the same hymn by heart. And in the home? Siblings squabble over who gets to recite from Luther’s Small Catechism during evening family devotions. It sounds impossible, but it’s very much the reality for the people of Peace Lutheran Church in Sussex, Wis. There, Peace’s pastor, the Rev. Peter Bender, pours hours upon hours into preparing some rigorous catechesis
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by Jeni Miller
(that is, teaching) for those entrusted to his care. This catechesis seamlessly ties together the life of faith at church, at home and at the church’s classical school, Peace Lutheran Academy. “We simply endeavor to create a culture of catechesis and prayer,” Bender said, “where we’re doing the things in catechesis that we want Christians to do for the rest of their lives — to receive God’s Word, confess their faith orally, sing hymnody, live out their vocations in service to neighbor and anchor
their lives around Sunday services.” Using a weekly resource that Bender puts together called “The Congregation at Prayer,” everyone from church members to students and families in the school engage in this life and culture of catechesis and prayer. The two-page tool is like a revved-up devotion with an order of service; it includes relevant notes for the week, a Bible verse, daily psalms, a selection from the catechism with age-appropriate responses, daily readings and prayers, and a hymn.
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“
A
Family Altar:
A term used in the middle of the 20th century — not a place as much as a way of life, where the family individually and together
gathers to hear the Word of God and to pray and sing. Sometimes it involves a place, like in the dining room with candles, but it doesn’t have to. — Rev. Peter Bender Michael and Laurie Vogt use “The Congregation at Prayer” during an evening devotion with their three children.
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“As a whole, our people are carried along quite vigorously using the catechism,” Bender explained. “These things are given over to the congregation as a gift, language is a gift, at the earliest ages possible. It’s not just for confirmation; it’s for the whole parish. ‘The Congregation at Prayer’ is used everywhere at Peace: It’s distributed to the church in our Sunday bulletin and on our website, it goes home with the day school kids each Friday, we use it in daily chapel, home-schoolers use it, public school families and retired couples use it in their homes, I hold it up and discuss it for the first 10 minutes of Bible class and encourage its use. It’s everywhere here.” The resource is the central way in which this integration of church, home and school takes place, all to support the “family altar,” so that teaching the faith can primarily take place in the home. “Of course, we in no way intend for everyone to do everything every day,” Bender added, “but to do what they can. It’s meant to be used at home, around the dinner table, even if it’s just the lesson and meditation, speaking the catechism and praying.” Michael and Laurie Vogt and their three children, ages 3, 4 and 6, actually moved near the Sussex area from another part of Wisconsin just for their children to attend Peace Lutheran Academy. “We moved here because of the school,” Laurie Vogt explained. “We previously felt
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like there was a disconnect between church and school. But now between church and Bible class, Sunday school and daily chapel, a weekly Didache class … there’s a lot of learning taking place as a family.” Using “The Congregation at Prayer” as a guide to their evening devotions, the Vogt family feels that their family life has changed just by learning the catechism by heart. “We’re all learning and practicing the same thing,” she said, “there’s no kid or adult version, it’s all the same. But I won’t say that it’s this quiet, peaceful after-dinner devotion! It’s actually kind of chaotic as the girls fight over who gets to read the Bible story, and when someone has learned parts of the catechism by heart and wants to be the one to recite it. What we’re doing at Peace, it connects church, home and school and makes you realize that the way the Bible is, that it’s perfect for all ages.”
No One Is ‘Qualified’ Preparing and supporting families to learn and engage in the Lutheran faith in the home is no small task. But it is worthwhile. According to the Association of Religion Data Archive’s National Study of Youth and Religion, only 1 percent of teens ages 15 to 17 raised by parents who attached little importance to religion were highly religious in their mid-to-late 20s. However, the study found that 82 percent of children raised by parents who talked about faith at home,
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Catechesis is
God’s way of converting the heart to faith in Christ through the call to repentance and in the proclamation of the forgiveness of sins in Jesus’ name.
The Rev. Peter Bender
“
Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers (Ps. 1:1–3).
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attached great importance to their beliefs and were active in their congregations were themselves religiously active as young adults. Another study found that the average youth spends 30 hours per week in front of the television or other device and another 30 hours in school, where a non-Christian worldview may be taught. These 60 combined hours are in sharp contrast to the 45 minutes per week that the average child — and adult — spends in the church classroom. (See gotquestions.org/fallingaway.html.) Add to that the eternal importance of learning the faith, and the stakes are even higher. “In catechesis, you discuss the most important things you will discuss ever in
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your life — it’s life or death,” Bender said. “We spend hours on end doing all kinds of other things, but we need rigorous catechesis. The question is, how does the head of the family do that, teach the normal, ongoing life of prayer in the home that is not narrowly defined by our petitioning God but rather our devotional life of Scripture and hymns? None of us are qualified to do the work that God has called us to do, myself included, as pastor, father and husband. But the Word of God is what makes us able.” Bender strives to support parents and models teaching for them in Bible class, vacation Bible school and in other contexts, and he also works to tie them in with other parents who have begun to do the same. He feels that it’s the “pastor’s job to shepherd them and give them resources and show them how to teach, yes, but more how to receive God’s gifts, how to pray, how to confess, how to live where God has called. We learn to pray by doing, just as we learn to swim by doing.”
The Church That Prays Together … But what are the effects — especially over time — of this kind of integrated study and learning of the faith? “Long term, it serves to bind the congregation together in a community around the same diet of the Word of God, confessing the same thing, praying the same thing … it filters into our conversations,” Bender said. “Now the life of our congregation is so alive and warm and gracious and generous, just by being well catechized. The catechism helps us learn how to listen to God’s Word, how to pray, how to
receive God’s gifts in the Divine Service, how to live in our vocations. In our school, the teachers are 110 percent behind it. There’s a wonderful harmony here as the Word of God in the catechism shapes the way people think and their understanding of His Word.” That’s definitely been true for the Vogts. “For our children … the focus is on learning it by heart — and now it’s really in their hearts,” Laurie Vogt said. “Talking about and applying our faith has become much more natural to all of us. Because we are learning the meanings of the chief parts of the catechism, those are often in our head as we go about our daily life. When the kids misbehave and I’m talking to them about the specific sin, they are able to quickly tell me which commandment they broke. Or I’m able to tell them which commandment I broke when I need to apologize for something. Our children already have a much deeper understanding of their faith than I did when I was a young child.” Deaconess Jeni Miller is a freelance writer and member of Lutheran Church of the Ascension in Atlanta. Learn more: See a sample of “The Congregation at Prayer”:
peacesussex.org (under “Weekly Downloads”) View the photo gallery: lcms.org/photo/
catechesis-peace-sussex
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by Megan K. Mertz
 Mercy Medical Team participants fill prescriptions during a clinic at a Lutheran church in Madagascar in October 2014.
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nspire CAN YOU IMAGINE LIVING EACH DAY AFFLICTED WITH INTESTINAL PARASITES OR WITH A SEVERE BACTERIAL INFECTION WITHOUT READY ACCESS TO ANTIBIOTICS? WHAT IF YOU COULDN’T EVEN GET EYEGLASSES TO CORRECT A SIMPLE VISION PROBLEM? corrected at the hospital for just $150 — an amount beyond the family’s means. Kuddes talked with the team, and they pitched in to pay for the surgery out of their own pockets. “Immediately, the grandmother said, ‘Thanks be to God,’” Kuddes recalled. “The family all came to the hospital. The grandmother was continually expressing
her thanks to God for the help given to this little boy, who surely would have struggled if he had continued in that condition.” This story is not unique. MMTs often have a budget for referrals of patients who need surgery or treatment that is beyond the scope of a field clinic, according to Tracy Quaethem, manager of LCMS Life and Health Ministries, which oversees the MMT program.
The Rev. Jeffrey Kuddes (front right), pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, Cole Camp, Mo., has served on 10 Mercy Medical Team trips to Madagascar since 2010.
Physical Care, Spiritual Encouragement
Madison McKinney of Statesville, N.C., greets patients at a June 2014 Mercy Medical Team clinic in Kenya.
But the care provided is not only for the body; it also is for the soul. During an October trip to Madagascar, a mother and grandmother brought a young child to an MMT clinic. The young boy had a cleft lip and was having trouble eating. Although MMTs don’t offer surgery, Dr. Harrison, director of the Lutheran Hospital in Antsirabe who often works alongside the MMTs, said the birth defect could be
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PHOTOS: LCMS COMMUNICATIONS/ERIK M. LUNSFORD, JEFFREY KUDDES, HOPE BOYLE-JACOBS
Although conditions are improving, this is still the situation in many rural communities in Africa. That’s why The Lutheran Church— Missouri Synod sends Mercy Medical Teams (MMT) — comprised of medical personnel, clergy and hardworking laypeople from the United States — to provide medical care to people living in remote areas of the world. In just five days, an MMT can provide medical care for up to 3,000 people with a variety of conditions, including injuries, infections, parasites, malaria and malnutrition. During the seven- to 10-day trips, teams hold clinics at local Lutheran churches. They often work alongside local doctors and nurses, who are able to quickly diagnose the medical conditions that are common to those areas. Since 2006, MMTs have provided desperately needed health care to more than 30,000 patients in underserved regions around the globe. When word goes out that an MMT clinic will be held in their area, people walk for miles — sometimes even all night — to be seen. They “are desperate for any kind of relief, even if it’s short-term relief,” said the Rev. Jeffrey Kuddes, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, Cole Camp, Mo., who has served on 10 MMTs to Madagascar since 2010.
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SC H O L A R S HIPS AVA I L A B L E F OR C O L L E G E S T U DE N TS College students can gain valuable firsthand experience on a Mercy Medical Team, and the LCMS is currently offering scholarships to students who are studying a health-related field to make the trip more affordable. During an MMT, students typically assist at primary-care clinics by taking “vitals” or helping out in the pharmacy. “If you have the opportunity, go for it!” said Hope BoyleJacobs, a senior nursing student at Concordia University Wisconsin, Mequon, Wis., who received a scholarship to go on an MMT to Uganda last August. “I know it’s totally frightening, but the people you are on the trip with are all there for the same reason. The experience gave me a unique way to talk about nursing.” The scholarships are funded in partnership with Angel Tear Ministries, a program of Concordia Lutheran Ministries, Cabot, Pa., an LCMS Recognized Service Organization that operates a network of healthrelated services and retirement homes for older adults. To request an application for a student scholarship, email Tracy Quaethem at tracy.quaethem@lcms.org.
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Hope Boyle-Jacobs, a nursing student at Concordia University Wisconsin, holds a baby during an MMT to Uganda.
“We provide health care while the pastor [of a local Lutheran church] preaches that God loves us and will take care of us. They see evidence of that as other Christians come from 10,000 miles away to give them Christ’s love,” Kuddes continued. Although the boy’s family already belonged to the local Lutheran church, that’s not always the case. The work of MMTs not only encourages those who are already Christian but also serves as a conversation starter with those who wonder why people would travel from another continent to care for them. “While we’re there, we heal people’s bodies, but the main reason we’re there is to share the Gospel of Christ with our brothers and sisters,” Quaethem said. “We don’t always see the result of that, but we trust that God works through His Word,” she said. “The neat thing about MMT is that we have a permanent partner in the field, because we only work at the invitation of our local church partners. The local church partner is there in the field following up with the patients that we see.”
Benefit to Those Who Serve Quaethem said those who participate on an MMT are often impacted just as much as those who receive medical care. Joanna Reiman, a nurse practitioner from New Palestine, Ind., decided to pursue long-term mission work after
March–April 2016
joining teams to Kenya in July 2013 and Madagascar in August 2014 and March 2015. Although she had felt drawn to mission work since the seventh grade, she found her fit after her team stayed at the Lutheran Hospital in Antsirabe. “There was a Lutheran hospital I could work at and a place for me to stay. It was exactly what I had been looking for!” Reiman wrote by email from Madagascar, where she will serve until next October. “If I had not attended the MMT to Madagascar, I would never have known this opportunity existed for me. “It really opens people’s eyes to what life is like in parts of the world that do not have access to basic hygiene, let alone medications for their problems,” she continued. “I would encourage anyone interested in missions to start with an MMT and see where God leads them from there.” Kuddes expressed similar sentiments when asked why he continues to return to Madagascar year after year. “What’s so impressive to me is to see people in such poverty who, by and large, are so very content — and that contentment is in Christ,” he said. “We become jaded to everything that’s going on around us, but when I see that contentment and faith, it’s good for me.” Learn more: lcms.org/mercyteams
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MERCY MOMENT
in Desperate Circumstances Partnership Grants Help Lutheran Hour Ministries Alleviate Suffering in the Middle East by Gregory Koenig and Roger Drinnon
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s 2015 saw even more genocidal violence brought by the Islamic State (also called ISIS) against Christians and other minorities in Iraq and Syria, Lutheran Hour Ministries (LHM) has been caring for the persecuted with the help of grants provided by the LCMS. “We knew we were in a dangerous part of the world,” says Eric Gates, “but we felt compelled to visit these desperate people and demonstrate in person the concern and compassion that Christians in Lebanon and North America have for them.” Gates is LHM’s regional director for Africa and the Middle East. The “dangerous part of the world” he refers to is a region of northern Iraq extending from Erbil in the west — just 25 miles from where Kurdish forces have squared off against ISIS forces — to Koysinjaq in the east, less than 40 miles from the Iranian border. Together with LHM—Lebanon Director Fadi Khairallah, Gates spent three days there in late October, bringing assistance to communities of people displaced by violence.
PHOTOS: LUTHERAN HOUR MINISTRIES
LHM—Lebanon Director Fadi Khairallah stands with refugee children who received boxes of Bible stories and candy for Christmas.
Through compassionate giving across the Synod, the LCMS was able to provide a $70,000 grant in September 2014 and then another $150,000 grant in June 2015 to help LHM expand its Middle East mercy ministry, as scores of Christians flee to refugee camps. “For the past two years, our Lebanon ministry center has undertaken an emergency program to help provide food and shelter materials, medicines and hygiene supplies, and the message of the Gospel to thousands of Syrian and Iraqi refugees in the Bekaa Valley and Beirut,” Gates says. “Additional partnership funding from The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod has helped LHM increase the assistance we are providing and also to extend this ministry to families who have sought refuge in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq. This includes a large number of Christians who fled their homes after their communities were taken by ISIS fighters.” He says LHM not only cares for Christian refugees but also other minorities fleeing violence, persecution and even enslavement by Islamic State militants in the region.
“We visited several compounds and camps where we distributed food and other supplies to more than 1,300 people, many of whom were Iraqi Christians,” Gates says. “We also reached out to Yazidi and Kakai minorities who had come to Erbil fleeing violence. As a matter of fact, while we were going door to door in an Erbil suburb, we stopped at one encampment run by four Yazidi women whose husbands had been killed by ISIS. Dressed in brown mourning clothes, they described how two of them had been enslaved by ISIS. They were able to escape only when their ISIS captors had rushed off to fight in a clash at the front.” He says that amid the exasperation brought about by such violence and persecution, some refugees find hope as they experience God’s Word in this time of crisis. “It was clear to us that the experiences of these people have left many feeling desperate and hopeless, but we heard stories that just as clearly show how God is using people’s experiences for His glory,” Gates says. “On our last stop one evening, we met a Syrian family of eight who had sought refuge in Erbil. They had been Muslims, but their contact with Christians had led them to read the Bible, and the power of God’s Word had led them to faith in Jesus — the father had been baptized just three weeks earlier! Together with this family of new Christians, we prayed for God’s continued blessing and protection. That’s something we can all do — ask God to bless and protect our fellow believers and everyone in Syria and Iraq who have been touched by this ongoing crisis.” Gregory Koenig is manager of Corporate Communications for Lutheran Hour Ministries.
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Mercy is at the heart of everything we do. ON THE MISSION FIELD
ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES
AS WE WORSHIP
IN CARING FOR REFUGEES
AS WE REVITALIZE IN URBAN CENTERS CHURCHES WHEN WE PLANT AND RURAL SETTINGS
LIFE CHURCHES
IN CARING FOR CHURCH WORKERS
IN OUR SCHOOLS WHEN DISASTER STRIKES
360 WITH THE ARMED FORCES
IN HOSPITALS AND RESIDENTIAL FACILITIES
UPHOLDING LIFE
WITH OUR YOUNG PEOPLE
IN OUR WITNESS AND OUTREACH
Life
Life
Witness Always. MERCY FOREVER. Life Together.
360
360
Life FREEDOM 360
LIFE
TO LIVE
JAN . 27–29, 2017 – WASHINGTON , D.C .
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STEWARD’S CORNER
We’re Good at…What? Stewarding the Blessing of Young People by Mark Hofman
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THE LUTHERAN CHURCH—MISSOURI SYNOD IS ON THE CUTTING EDGE!
know that’s a bit hard to believe, isn’t it? You know the LCMS and its storied history, and you know we’re typically not early adopters. And yet, during a presentation a few weeks back, one of the program directors in the Office of National Mission reported that other denominations consider the LCMS to be on the forefront of intergenerational ministry. As I heard it, “intergenerational ministry” is a behavioral characteristic of a congregation or denomination where children and young people are in regular contact with people more advanced in years — and vice versa — and everyone grows in discipleship together. It can be intentional or a natural state that develops on its own. Apparently, we are noticed by others for above-average marks in this area.
PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES/TONGRO IMAGE STOCK RF
So, What Does This Have to Do with Stewardship? Let’s focus on one of God’s greatest blessings: young people. How are we at caring for our youngest? Intergenerational ministry is surely part of our denominational DNA because we invest time, talent, toil and treasure in the next generation of Christian disciples. Take, for example, the Synod’s official archive: Concordia Historical Institute. Why invest in a dedicated archive that stewards
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our history? It’s for our young people, so they can learn from our mistakes and joys as they learn to lead and carry the Gospel forward into the world! That’s one reason among a multitude of others. We also invest in Lutheran schools, from day care to universities and seminaries, so that our young people have a bright future. We invest in ministry to young people, from local youth groups to the Office of National Mission’s Youth Ministry. Above all, we invest in our young people through catechesis, intentional instruction in the chief parts of the Christian faith using a treasure handed down from one generation to the next over nearly 500 years: Luther’s Small and Large Catechisms. The LCMS also equips pastors, directors of Christian outreach, schoolteachers and others to support the parent’s task of raising up a child in the way God wants that child to go. Apparently what we do, almost second nature, has caught the attention of other Christians who are beginning to seek us out. That’s something to give thanks to God for!
Evidence of Intergenerational Ministry Recently, my congregation had a Sundaymorning brunch in the fellowship hall. Looking around, I noticed a pattern. From table to table, I saw children, their parents and their grandparents. At one table, it was nieces, nephews, aunts and uncles, and
parents. They were together, in God’s house, after worshiping as complete families. Even at my table, my 6-year-old son, my wife and my in-laws sat across from another family. As people finished eating, family units broke up to spend time with other brothers and sisters in Christ. Young children visited with our oldest members. Older members walked around and stopped to chat with a teen or small child. Observing this, I began to better understand some of my son’s developing behaviors. Like most children, he pays attention to what the adults around him do. He sees them pray, and it emboldens him to pray, even when he thinks I’m not listening. He sees others put their offerings into the offering plate, and he is learning to return some of what is God’s back to God. He sees teenagers volunteering and asks if he can volunteer next time. He observes people listening to the Scripture readings and sermons, and he learns to remain respectfully quiet. In our congregation, he has heard from our missionaries and seminarians, and he asks questions about church work. Some may call it mimicking or modeling behaviors. I call it the Holy Spirit at work in Christ’s Bride, the Church. I pray every child in the LCMS has this kind of experience. It’s about the stewardship of God’s gifts in the form of young people. I pray your congregation is blessed with young people and that your stewardship of them is something in which you rejoice — and participate! Mark Hofman, CFRE, MBA, is the executive director of LCMS Mission Advancement.
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NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID Burlington, WI Permit No. 12
This magazine was developed for you, as one who has supported the Witness, Mercy, Life Together work of the LCMS with your time and/or financial gifts. Whether your efforts and gifts were for disaster relief, a specific ministry or an individual missionary, you are a vital part of the Synod’s work around the world. The stories found in these pages are about how YOU are making a difference and changing lives with the Gospel and Christ’s mercy. Lutherans Engage the World is our effort to keep you informed about the difference you are making in the world and to say THANK YOU for all you do.
2016 IS THE YEAR FOR THE TRIENNIAL LCMS NATIONAL OFFERING, which will be gathered at the 66th Regular Convention of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod July 9-14 in Milwaukee. Watch for more information on the National Offering in the coming months to see how you can joyfully participate!
VISIT | lcms.org/convention for news and updates!