Fall 2022engage LUTHERANS
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reading this issue of Lutherans Engage the World. I hope you will be encouraged by the example of our brothers and sisters in Christ from around the world.
Seminarian Luis Jasinto serves as crucifer during the May 27 graduation service held at Concordia the Reformer Lutheran Seminary and Mercy Center in Palmar Arriba, Republic.Dominican
The missionaries who have been called by The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod to serve in places near and far are no strangers to tribulations. We thank God for them, even as we are joined with them, St. Paul, the Corinthians and every saint who has gone before. If their suffering is ours, then Christ who is their com fort is also ours. If our suffering is theirs, then our hope and consolation in Christ is also Thanktheirs.youfor
Lisa Moeller designer
In Christ, Megan K. Mertz
In His hands, Rev. Kevin D. Robson Chief Mission Officer, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 COR. 1:3 4).
As fall rolls around, many students from our Synod’s seminaries and universities are heading out into the field for the first time. Third-year seminarians are starting vicarages, where they will gain valuable experience that will shape their future service to the church. Meanwhile, in Latin America, three new pastors and 12 new deaconesses will serve in locations throughout the region after graduating in May from Concordia the Reformer Seminary and Mercy Center in the Dominican Republic. The Fall 2022 issue shares these stories and more, giving a glimpse of how God is at work around the world.
Managing Editor, Lutherans Engage the World
From the Editor
Constant Suffering and Confident Hope
Rudy Blank webmaster Cover image
© 2022 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. Unless otherwise noted, all photos are property of the UnlessLCMS.otherwise
The apostle Paul says that in Christ we stand as one — through constant suffer ing and in confident hope. Jesus is our consolation. He is our comfort when we are distressed to the breaking point, as we are “utterly burdened beyond our strength” (2 COR. 1:8 ). God is not only the Father who created all things. He also is the originator of all mercies, the God of all comfort in the Son whom He has sent. He is the foun tain and source of every mercy and comfort. He has forever buried your sins. They shall accuse you no longer. In this you can rejoice.
Megan K. Mertz managing editor
Erik M. Lunsford manager, photojournalism
Staff
Fall 2022
Chrissy Thomas designer
Lutherans Engage the World is published quarterly by The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.
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.
Editorial Office
PHOTO: LCMS COMMUNICATIONS/ ERIK M. LUNSFORD
We’d love for you to join us on the journey. To be notified when new issues are posted online, visit engage.lcms.org
There is no equal to Him and there is no substitute for the community that He creates, as we are bound together by Baptism into a proclaimed and lived confes sion of the faith. Members of His Body, ever contending to speak His truth with simplicity and sincerity, are called to pray for one another and the world, that in every trial and affliction we would be brought back only to Jesus.
Kevin Armbrust director, editorial Erica Schwan director, design services
1333 S. Kirkwood Road St. Louis, MO 63122-7295 lutheransengage@lcms.org 888-THE LCMS | lcms.org
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Kevin Armbrust
Church leaders from throughout the region gather in the Dominican Republic to celebrate the graduation of 15 church workers and to learn about a new Spanishlanguage hymnal.
Walking Side by Side in Christ
‘Immerse Drowning’Without
Fostering a Lutheran Identity in Latin America
The importance of vicarage on pastoral formation.
Hope for the Future
Erik M. Lunsford
Megan K. Mertz
A collaboration between the LCMS and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya supports the education and Christian formation of young people in need, from primary school to college.
Erik M. Lunsford
At a recent convention, the LCMS and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil celebrated their shared history and solidified plans for future collaboration.
Departments Feature Feature Feature 2 Q&A With Chaplain Gregory Todd 10 Mercy Moment Pro-life ministry in Carol Stream, Ill. 18 Around the LCMS 2022 Youth Gathering 20 Around the LCMS Conventions for Black and Hispanic Ministries
I cannot overstate the opportunity we have to reach our society through chaplaincy. The Navy is asking us to grow the Chaplain Corps significantly, so we are desperately seeking adventurous pastors who are called to serve. It’s not necessary to serve a whole 20-year career. In three to four years, a chaplain will make a significant contribution and will receive amazing experience as a counselor, interacting with 18to 25-year-olds and engaging in the public square. I would invite all our pastors to consider it. Through naval chaplaincy, God has blessed me more than I ever imagined.
BY MEGAN K. MERTZ WITH Chaplain Gregory ToddQA&
There are so many! Most of them are small and intimate, not necessarily involving hundreds of people. Chaplaincy is most often oneon-one pastoral care. … I was in Afghanistan and a Marine asked to be baptized. With over 100 of his fellow Marines around, I used the explanation of Baptism from Luther’s Small Catechism to teach everyone there what we were doing.
How did you become a military chaplain?
Three Marines in the front row were hanging on every word and when I finished, I had those three pop up and say, “What you just said … that’s what we want!” … Now that I’m higher in rank and serve more as a supervisor, the joy comes in training, mentoring and enabling others in ministry.
What are the joys of this service?
Chief among them is to tell someone that Christ died on the cross for them and that their sins are forgiven. So many military people have told me that they hadn’t heard that before! What a joy to witness the impact of Christ’s forgiveness firsthand.
While attending Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, a friend told me about a chaplain candidate program where I could join the Navy part time and learn about naval chaplaincy. It was kind of like ROTC for seminary students. Since I had grown up in Seattle and loved the sea, I was intrigued. During the summer, I attended the basic chaplain training course and, quite frankly, wasn’t that impressed. It was too much about classroom work and policy. But the next summer, I attended a Marine Corps course. We spent two weeks living in the field with Marines, learning how to function and minister in an austere environment. I loved it! I saw it as an opportunity to bring the Gospel into an authentic, rugged and sometimes edgy environment.
Without military chaplains, many of our Lutheran
service members would not have ready access to the Word and Sacraments. Additionally, chaplains serve as an iconic reminder for the warrior that they serve within a context of something bigger than themselves. … Finally, chaplains have the opportunity to bring the Gospel into the proverbial “public square” with all its messiness and challenges. … Yet in this chaotic public square, the Gospel of Jesus Christ has opportunity to shine.
Why are chaplainsmilitarysoimportant?
In May, Chaplain (Rear Adm.) Gregory Todd was promoted to chief of chaplains for the U.S. Navy, supervising the 1,100 chaplains who minister to nearly 650,000 personnel and their family members in the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. Todd’s interest in military chaplaincy began in the seminary. After graduation, he spent several years serving in both a parish and the Navy Reserve before making the leap to active duty, where he has been ever since. Todd and his wife, Teresa, have five daughters and four grandchildren and attend Immanuel Lutheran Church in Alexandria, Va.
What have been some of the highlights from your career?
Is there anything else you want the church to know?
A Seaman and a Petty Officer Third Class salute during the Chief of Chaplains Change of Office Ceremony for Chaplain Gregory Todd as he assumed the rank of Rear Admiral (Upper Half), Chaplain Corps, United States Navy on May 16.
Q&A
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| LEARN MORE | lcms.org/armedforces
Megan K. Mertz is managing editor of Lutherans Engage the World and chief copy editor for LCMS Communications.
Fostering a Lutheran Identity in Latin America
Church leaders from throughout the region gather in the Dominican Republic to celebrate the graduation of 15 church workers and to learn about a new Spanishlanguage hymnal.
Seminarians Josue Ventura (center) and Hector Paneque worship during the Confessional Lutheran Theology Symposium held in the Dominican Republic in May.
BY KEVIN ARMBRUST
LUNSFORDM.COMMUNICATIONS/ERIKLCMSPHOTOS: engage.lcms.org • 3
New graduate Rev. Jeancarlos Ramírez shakes hands with the Rev. Joel Fritsche, an LCMS missionary and director of Concordia the Reformer Seminary and Mercy Center.
Deaconess Danelle Putnam, an LCMS missionary and associ ate coordinator of the deaconess program at Concordia, noted that most of the graduating deaconesses will not be paid. They see their service to the church and others as their reward. “The three-year program here consists of nine main core courses that train the women and instruct them in the Bible and Lutheran doctrine. We also have fieldwork that the women do to give them practice in caring for people, in reaching out to their neighbor.”
“God takes you in many ways. … I never thought I would be a pastor. But God led me here out of my country to learn the truth so that I can return to my home country to tell them the truth,” said the Rev. Jeancarlos Ramírez, who graduated from Concordia after four years of residential education. Ramírez, who will serve the church in his native city of Lima, Peru, especially looks forward to bringing the Gospel to children and families. “Everything you learn in seminary — it’s important to think about how to communicate that to kids, to people who don’t know. … [We] don’t change the truth but learn how to share it with kids so that they can understand.”
Concordia forms pastors to spread the Gospel, plant Lutheran churches and show mercy. It also trains deaconesses to serve alongside pastors to show the mercy of God in Christ to those who are in need and facing difficulties.
“Being a deaconess is a wonderful area of service for the church. We work in different areas like Christian education and mercy work. We also care for people spiritually,” said Putnam. “The deaconess works alongside the pastor to help him care for the body and soul. She is the one out in the community and in
The Rev. Sergio Fritzler, alliance missionary and professor, looks through the new Spanish hymnal during the symposium.
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Participants arrive at the Confessional Lutheran Theology Symposium, held May 24–27 in the Dominican Republic.
Sharing the Love and Mercy of God
On May 27, three pastors and 12 deaconesses gradu ated from Centro de Misericordia y Seminario Concordia el Reformador (Concordia the Reformer Seminary and Mercy Center) in Palmar Arriba, Dominican Republic (DR). The gradu ates will serve the church throughout Latin America as they head to Peru, Chile, Mexico, Panama, Guatemala, Venezuela and other nations.
Deaconess graduates sing during the May 27 graduation service.
spread of the Gospel throughout Germany and much of the rest of Europe. So having said all of that, I will say it again: Lutherans invented hymnals.”
Hear from recent graduate Rev. Jeancarlos Ramírez: engage.lcms.org/dominican-republic-fall-2022
engage.lcms.org • 5
Fostering a Common Identity in Christ
the congregation looking for the needs of people, listening to the people, then taking those needs also back to the pastor so that he can attend to them spiritually.”
Rain drenched the outside graduation service, and the wind whipped the rented tents, which could not fully protect everyone from the elements. Yet the Word of God, sent from heaven as was the rain, accomplished exactly the purpose for which God sent it forth. The Rev. Dr. Gerson Linden, director of Seminario Concordia in São Leopoldo, Brazil, preached to the graduates and all assembled to trust in and proclaim the one thing this world needs: Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
“One of our goals for a regional, residential seminary is to gather our students together around our Lutheran theology to foster their common identity as Lutherans,” said LCMS missionary Rev. Joel Fritsche, director of the DR seminary. “Our annual theological symposium seeks to accomplish that at an even broader level by inviting partner church presidents and leaders in theological education to join us for a week. This year we are humbled to play a role in the introduction of the new Spanish Lutheran Hymnal, which we pray will also strengthen our theo logical unity and identity in song for years to come.”
The graduates leave Concordia to serve the church through out South and Central America. When asked what he learned while studying at Concordia, graduate Rev. Rafael Flores, who will serve in Chile, noted, “Without a doubt, the mercy and love of God … the most important thing is now to show mercy toward others.” Flores looks forward to serving in Chile, where the church has few pastors.
“Luther learned from his first hymn,” observed Vieker, “that hymns can spread the Gospel.” May it be so.
Seminarian Luis Jasinto, serving as crucifer, leads the recessional.
Throughout the week, scholars and church leaders presented papers and responded to each other in collegial conversation and celebration. The papers focused on the role of hymns in Christian suffering, the history of hymnals, a look at the Divine Service in the theology of the cross, Luther and Gerhardt as composers, and the daily prayers at the family altar. Each day began with Matins in the chapel using the new hymnal. Each evening ended with a hymn sing hosted by one of the sympo sium presenters.
This new hymnal includes lectionaries; the psalms; five liturgical settings of the Divine Service; Matins, Vespers and Compline; other daily offices and services; a setting of private Confession and Absolution; Luther’s Small Catechism; and other resources. The bulk of the hymnal, of course, consists of 670 hymns. Effort was made to include all of the extant hymns at tributed to Martin Luther.
The graduation service took place at the end of a weeklong symposium hosted by the seminary that included education about and celebration of the release of a new Spanish-language hymnal. This Spanish Lutheran Hymnal is the result of a joint project of the Southern Cone (Chile, Argentina and Paraguay), the Confessional Lutheran Education Foundation, Lutheran Heritage Foundation, and the LCMS Office of International Mission’s Latin America and the Caribbean region. The hymnal is now available in print, with a planned digital edition in production.“Lutherans invented hymnals,” boldly stated the Rev. Dr. Jon Vieker, dean of the chapel at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, during the symposium. Although a hymnal was assembled in Czech in 1501, “the refinement and widespread printing of hymnals was found first among the Lutherans,” Vieker contin ued. “More importantly, the widespread use of these hymnals among Lutherans became one of the major vehicles for the
Thus, the celebration of a hymnal is a very Lutheran habit. Leaders from Lutheran churches in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Uruguay and Venezuela were in attendance for this celebration.
| LEARN MORE | international.lcms.org/latin-america-caribbean
Celebrating a New Hymnal
| WATCH |
Dr. Kevin Armbrust is director of Editorial for LCMS Communications.
The week also included the dedication of the library at Concordia; a presentation of the distance learning based FPH program — like the Specific Ministry Pastor (SMP) program in the United States — at Concordia (in coordination with Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne), which allows men to study for the pastoral office who cannot travel to the DR; and the official dedication of the hymnal. Throughout the week, the attendees enjoyed the blessed fellowship of mutual confes sion and encouragement in the work of God’s kingdom.
‘Part of a Long Chain’
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opportunities to carry out functions of the office such that he is formed by the Holy Spirit working through the vicarage experience. A man’s identity, character and skills become more and more in tune with the pastoral office simply by his supervised participation in that office.”
In Norman, Gaschler opened his day with a women’s Bible study at the church and closed it late in the evening with Bible study and fellow ship with students at the Oklahoma University LCMS U chapter. The next day, he assisted at the preschool’s chapel service and visited a shut-in. During his vicarage, he lived in the parsonage next door to the church and met regularly with Nehrenz for counsel and planning.
“Now this will be a forma tive year for you,” said the Rev.
“It’s not really a question of need,” Vicar Mark Gaschler said. “It’s a question of great joy, of the great opportunity that we have, that God has called men to go out and to bring out His Gospel.” Gaschler, a student at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, was the 32nd vicar to serve at Trinity Lutheran Church in Norman, Okla., under the supervision of the Rev. David Nehrenz, newly elected district president in the LCMS Oklahoma District.
Nehrenz never tires of seeing men preach the Word of God in the pulpit as he oversees their training. He recalled the influence of his supervising pastor when he was a vicar. “I love being a vicarage supervi sor because you’re part of a long chain of continuing to raise up pastors for the next generation. I was influenced by my vicarage supervisor, and now God is using me to influence other young men who want to be pastors.”
In April, both Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, and Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, held their annual vicarage and deaconess internship place ment services. During the service, seminarians learned where they would be serving their vicarages assigned by the Council of Presidents. At Concordia Seminary, semi narians entered the service, some dipping their fingers in the baptismal font in remem brance of their Baptism.
‘Immerse WITHOUT
“While a seminary education begins to form a man for the pastoral office, it is also true that the pastoral office forms a man to be in this sacred voca tion,” said the Rev. Dr. Glenn Nielsen, director of Vicarage, Deaconess Internships and Placement at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. “Vicarage gives the student marvelous
A vicar is a pastor in train ing. These men are assigned by the Synod’s Council of Presidents, acting as the Board of Assignments, into congregations around the country for a year of hands-on learning under the supervi sion and mentorship of an experienced pastor. They are not assistant pastors, noted Nehrenz. Instead, they are learning the craft.
BY ERIK M. LUNSFORD
engage.lcms.org • 7
Drowning’
THE IMPORTANCE OF VICARAGE ON PASTORAL FORMATION
Seminarians enter the Chapel of St. Timothy and St. Titus at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, for the Service of the Word with the Assignment of Vicarages and Deaconess Internships on April 26, 2022.
Last October, Blomenberg supervised while Wagenknecht taught confirmation class at Immanuel’s school. Afterward, Wagenknecht read Scripture while assisting Blomenberg and the associate pastors with a congregation member’s funeral and committal. By the evening, Wagenknecht had also made shut-in rounds and coached youth at the school.
“Nothing is more important in all the world than the forgiveness of sins and our eternal life,” said Baneck. “So, God gives pastors to the church. This is His gift. It’s also His mandate.”
Dr. Lucas V. Woodford, presi dent of the LCMS Minnesota South District and preacher at the vicarage assignment service in St. Louis. “It’s going to impact your future ministry for years to come. You’re still in the middle of your studies, and yet now you will be sent out to put it into practice. … That means there will be challenges ahead for you this coming year, that’s for sure. But the Lord will never leave you nor forsake you, that’s His promise. That, too, is for sure. You are beloved and precious
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Vicar Nick Wagenknecht (far right) stands with the Rev. James Rodriguez Jr., associate pastor, as the Rev. Dr. Ralph Blomenberg, senior pastor, and the Rev. Philip Bloch (facing camera) prepare the casket following a funeral service at Immanuel Lutheran Church, Seymour, Ind.
T
“The congregation itself is the chief champion of [the vic arage program],” Blomenberg said. “We as pastors love the program. We love to work with the guys, share the work with them, talk with them [and] try to help them learn what we have learned as we have gone through our experiences.”
to Him. You have been chosen by the AfterLord.”theservice in St. Louis, the pastors of congregations receiving a vicar greeted the seminarians. The Rev. Dr. Ralph Blomenberg, senior pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Seymour, Ind., was one of the pastors in attendance.AtImmanuel, Vicar Nick Wagenknecht was the 24th vicar to serve under Blomenberg and the 36th vicar to serve at Immanuel overall. Congregations like Immanuel
and Trinity provide a valu able service to the Synod by operating these longstanding vicarage programs.
led by the Rev. Dr. James A. Baneck, executive director of the LCMS Office of Pastoral Education. It seeks to reverse the trend of declining enrollment in church work programs at LCMS seminaries and universities to ensure that the saving faith continues to be passed along from one generation to the next until our Savior’s return.
Nielsen is thankful for con gregations like Immanuel and Trinity that open their doors to vicars. “Vicarage is
LEARN MORE and find resources at lcms.org/set-apart-to-serve
HE PREPARATION of pastors and other church workers is of vital importance to the LCMS. That’s why the Synod in convention adopted Resolution 6-01, “To Support and Participate in the Comprehensive Church Worker Recruitment Initiative,” in 2019. This initiative — which is now known as Set Apart to Serve — is
Equipped to Serve
Vicar Mark Gaschler of Trinity Lutheran Church, Norman, Okla., reads Scripture during a home visit with congregation member Barbara Beall.
so effective,” said the Rev. Dr. Todd A. Peperkorn, director of Vicarage and Internships at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne.
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Wagenknecht helps a confirmation student at Immanuel Lutheran School in Seymour, Ind., as the Rev. Dr. Ralph Blomenberg supervises the class.
The Rev. David Nehrenz (left), pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, Norman, Okla., goes over the upcoming chapel service with Gaschler.
Erik M. Lunsford is managing photojournalist for LCMS Communications.
perhaps the most significant year by which a candidate for pastoral ministry gathers the knowledge, experiences and mentored reflections needed for him to turn the various ac tivities he will do into faithful and fruitful acts of ministry for God’s holy people wherever he may serve as a pastor in the church,” he Wagenknechtsaid.said he loves learning how to be a pastor, and Blomenberg sees to it that he learns all aspects of the pastoral ministry. Blomenberg’s approach is to “immerse without drowning”: “We immerse them in the experience of what it means to be a pastor and to get to know your people. … The overall scope is that when they get finished with their vicarage, they will at least have touched on the major things that they will deal with as a pastor.” But of course, there are still sur prises, Blomenberg noted.
He likens the vicarage to that of a medical residency: “We want our doctors to be experienced, but also to have had some guidance. And cer tainly, we would want those who are operating on our souls to be equally as prepared as we can make them be, humanly speaking.”
The Rev. Joshua Hayes, pastor of St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church in rural Palmer, Kan., recommends vicars learn from the good and the bad and take the time to observe the ministry and ask questions of their supervising pastor. As the sole pastor of a growing congregation at St. John, he leans on some of his prior vicarage experiences as he shepherds Christ’s flock in Word and Sacrament.
“The pattern of theologi cal learning, practice in the parish and then theological reflection in the fourth year is a part of what makes our pastoral formation programs
Loving & Serving
the dew had evaporated on a Saturday morning in May, mothers and their young children were already arriving at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Carol Stream, Ill., outside of FamiliesChicago. gathered for the monthly Breakfast with Baby event, an outreach ministry that the church started in October 2019. Despite the pandemic, over 70 families con tinue to attend.
BY ERIK M. LUNSFORD
LUNSFORDM.COMMUNICATIONS/ERIKLCMSPHOTOS:10 • LUTHERANS ENGAGE | FALL 2022
LOCAL FAMILIES
“We want the whole community to know that Christ has in vited them into our home and His home. They are a part of our family and we’re here to take care of them as best we can and not only in Word and Sacrament, but also in physical needs,” said the Rev. Tom Sanders, vacancy pastor at Our Savior.
Our Savior Lutheran Church in Carol Stream, Ill., serves families in the community through its monthly Breakfast with Baby event.
“Breakfast with Baby is a service we’re providing for people who are in need,” said Dawn Janke, one of the co-coordinators of the event. “We don’t question what that need is. We just know that if they’re coming, they are in need of something.”
MERCY MOMENT
Lauren Thomas, a wheelchair-bound mother of two with one more on the way, let daughter Viola ride on her lap with a bag of clothing while son Gideon walked behind, carrying another bag of items. Thomas, who has visited several times, said she’s thankful for the help from the church.
Before
Inside the church’s gymnasium, tables and racks displayed available children’s clothing, while an area of strollers and toys under a large cross attracted children to one end of the room. Guests waited at the door to register near a sign that read: “God loves you! And so do we!”
Learn more about the program and the application process at lcms.org/serve/ grants/life-grant
Ginny Milas, a volunteer at the event and an ardent pro-life supporter, said the outreach is “fulfilling what our whole minis try is about: to help and support women to save the unborn.”
congregation members and community volunteers,” said Manor. “We provided much-needed infant clothing, food, diapers and equipment. Most importantly, we prayed and shared the love of Christ with the families who came to Breakfast with Baby. … I hope that other LCMS congregations consider opening their church buildings to hold Breakfast with Baby events to serve their neighbors and share with them the mercy that God has poured out on us through the death and resurrection of His Son.”
“It was a blessing to join in the efforts alongside
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Carol Stream, Ill., was one of 37 LCMS congregations to receive a grant to help provide beginningof-life care to the community through The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod’s 1 John 3 Initiative Million Dollar Life Match. The program offers a total of $1 million in matching grants, which will be awarded during three phases. Applications for the third phase will be accepted Nov. 1, 2022, through Jan. 22, 2023, and all LCMS congregations are encouraged to apply.
Our Savior was recently awarded a grant by LCMS Life Ministry through the Synod’s 1 John 3 Initiative Million Dollar Life Match, which is providing $1 million in matching grants to LCMS congregations involved in pro-life efforts.
Near the exit, volunteers handed out bagged meals and fulfilled requests for diapers. Here, guests also could leave a prayer request in a box, which was filled by the end of the event.
1 John 3 Initiative Million Dollar Life Match
Deaconess Dr. Tiffany Manor, director of LCMS Life Ministry, was visiting Our Savior that day to learn more about the ministry. She quickly donned an apron and helped at the clothing racks, where she struck up a conversation with a mother who said she was warned that her unborn son would face extreme health and physical challenges, including the possibility of missing limbs. But the mother chose life over abortion, and as the son overcomes developmental delays, she said his life brings her great joy.
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BY MEGAN K. MERTZ
HopefortheFuture
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A collaboration between theLCMS and the EvangelicalLutheran Church in Kenyasupports the education andChristian formation of youngpeople in need, from primaryschool to college.
LUNSFORDM.COMMUNICATIONS/ERIKLCMSPHOTOS:
groups — in the United States with children at the Project 24 sites. Once matched, sponsors receive updates about the chil dren, and all are encouraged to write letters to each other.
F
Although Kwoba has now graduated from secondary school and the Project 24 program, he is not on his own. During the break before heading off to college, Kwoba participated in the Pre-College
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A Solid Education
Britt Odemba, an LCMS mis sionary to Kenya who assists with Project 24 and oversees CCCK, says the PLA was en visioned to help these young people transition from high school to college. Since there is often an extended break before college begins in Kenya, Project 24 graduates are encouraged to participate in this program, where they take refresher courses on the Bible, the Small Catechism and study skills, among other things.
ERICK DAVIS KWOBA
or the last seven years, Erick Davis Kwoba has been able to attend primary and secondary school thanks to a unique collabora tion between The JesusdrenMosttheskillsfor,localprogram,secondaryofandoutfromstudentsinlywhocarecilitiesawork(ELCK).Lutheran(LCMS)Church—MissouriLutheranSynodandtheEvangelicalChurchinKenyaThetwochurchbodiestogetheronProject24,seriesofeightboardingfathroughoutKenyathatforabout200childrencomefromdifficultfamisituations.Staffalsoremaincontactwithanother163whohavegraduatedprimaryschool,movedoftheirProject24site,nowliveandstudyatoneKenya’smanyresidentialschools.WhileintheProject24thechildrenattendaschoolandarefed,caredandtaughtimportantlifesuchashowtotendtosite’scropsandlivestock.importantly,thechillearnabouttheirSavior,Christ.
To College and Beyond
“The program has positively impacted my life; the problem of school fees has been fully settled, relieving that burden, and helping me study with ease,” Kwoba says, as he pre pares to attend university later this year to pursue a Bachelor of Education degree. “This has given me hope of changing my life for the better.”
During his time in Project 24, Kwoba was sponsored through Christ’s Care for Children: Kenya (CCCK), which connects sponsors — indi viduals, families and other
Kwoba originally came to live at the Othoro Project 24 site near Kisumu, Kenya, after the death of his father. His widowed mother struggled to provide for the family while paying the mandatory school fees for Kwoba and his four older siblings. The family attended an ELCK church, and church leaders identified Kwoba as a good candidate for Project 24.
“My sponsors are kindhearted, dedicated and ready to support me. I appreciate the efforts they have made to send lovely letters to me,” Kwoba says of the correspondence.
This has given me hope of changing my life for the better.”
Residents of the Othoro Project 24 site leave after worship on Feb. 20.
Lutheran Academy (PLA), which was held at Matongo Lutheran Theological College at Neema Lutheran College in western Kenya.
“We’re just learning how the graduates can come back and help. Erick has come back and encouraged the children to work hard. Another graduate, Evans, is doing some masonry and plumbing work around one of the sites,” Odemba says.
“The goal is to help strengthen the faith of those students. It’s also an opportu nity to see what college is like,” Odemba says. “Our hope is that some of the kids will like it so much that they consider going into church work.”
For More Information or to Sponsor a Child
As he prepares to head off to university, Kwoba looks forward to one day becoming
| LEARN MORE | lcms.org/ccck | WATCH |
A matching opportunity is currently available for sponsors who make a two-year commitment to a child through Christ’s Care for Children: Kenya. New sponsors agree to fund half of the yearly sponsorship amount, and an anonymous contributor will donate the rest. For more information, contact Program
LCMS missionary Britt Odemba plays a game of soccer with residents at the Rongo Project 24 site.
A video from LCMS missionary Rev. Dr. Walter Steele: engage.lcms.org/project-24-fall-2022
Top and middle: Residents gather for singing and prayer at the Nyamira Project 24 site. Bottom: The Rev. Philemon Adoyo distributes the Sacrament to young men of the Othoro Project 24 site.
Coordinator Jennifer Hummel at Jennifer.Hummel@lcms.org or 800-248-1930, Ext. 1326.
Some of the graduates are already returning to their Project 24 sites to support the good work of the program.
a science teacher — possibly at one of the ELCK’s schools — and being able to give back to the Project 24 program. “By God’s grace, I want to … come back to support my fellow [residents],” he says. “I want to be an example and change the future of our family and community.”
The Rev. Dr. Walter Steele, an LCMS missionary who teaches at Matongo, is one of the faculty members who teaches courses through the PLA. One course he thinks is particularly useful is about “how to maintain your Christian faith while you are in a very secular environment. Many of these children have gone through the schools of the church here, but then when they head off to high school some of that knowledge … drops away. This gives them the chance to have their faith strengthened.”
Ultimately, Steele, Odemba and the Project 24 staff want these young people to be suc cessful in whatever vocations they choose, although they hope that some of them might decide to become pastors, deaconesses or evangelists in the ELCK in the future.
At a recent convention, the LCMS and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil celebrated their shared history and solidified plans for future collaboration.
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“There are so many things to say,” Da Costa said on why he loves being a pastor, “but I will say only this: I want to [work] with the people who don’t know Jesus, like I did not know Him, that they come to know Jesus. … This church has given me Jesus, a wife, a family and a vocation.”
At this convention, the IELB and the LCMS signed two im portant documents. The first, signed by LCMS Chief Mission
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The Rev. Joel Müller leads opening worship at the 63rd National Convention of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil.
moved methodically through the convention hall between morning and night. When the convention ended on Sunday, the pastors returned to their congregations and cared for their flocks through Word and Sacrament, much like the pas tors who served Schroeder’s grandmother.
Da Costa was one of 528 pastors and 443 laypeople at the IELB’s 63rd National
very day, the Rev. Alexandre Manoel da Costa shares the Good News on Perfect Love Street in Bauru, São Paolo, Brazil. Da Costa, who has been a pas tor for 27 years in the Igreja Evangélica Luterana do Brasil (Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil, or IELB), preaches, teaches and gives God’s flock His gifts. He thanks The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) for sending missionaries to his country in 1900 — leading to the eventual formation of the IELB. Thanks to this work, he was able to hear about Jesus from a pastor evangelizing his indigenous tribe decades later.
Convention, held in June in the coastal city of Gaurapari, in the state of Espírito Santo.
Pastors pray during the closing service at the IELB’s national convention.
A Step Forward
Officer Rev. Kevin Robson and IELB President Rev. Geraldo Walmir Schüler, established working criteria for the IELB’s alliance missionaries who are serving alongside the LCMS. In close coordination with the LCMS Office of International Mission (OIM), the Alliance Missionary project will provide called and ordained pastors from LCMS partner churches such as the IELB to support mission efforts under the supervision of the OIM. These men receive calls from their own church body and
Schroeder helped lead the IELB’s convention, which looked familiar to anyone who has attended an LCMS conven tion. There were bylaws and discussion, presentations and elections. There was an opening service with a proces sional and a closing service with a recessional. The Word of God was preached, and sins were forgiven. Pastors gathered and reconnected years after their time together in seminary. Children played near their parents, who were seated for the proceedings. Days grew long as the shad ows from the winter sun
When he was merely 4 years old, the Rev. Airton Scheunemann Schroeder, IELB vice-president for mercy ministry, told his parents that he wanted to be a pastor when he grew up. He fondly remem bers how pastors visited his grandmother when she was bedridden. He watched while they cared for her and showed her the love of Christ.
“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving” (COL. 2:6 7).
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are sent as missionaries to another country, where they often serve alongside LCMS missionaries.Thebrothers and sisters of the IELB and the LCMS are living in Christ. The spoken language may differ, but the two church bodies walk side by side in the same confession of faith in Christ. Both have resources to carry out the proclamation of the Gospel, and the unity in the faith is re flected in the mutual sharing of resources and gifts for the sake of the Gospel.
| LEARN MORE | engage.lcms.org/brazil-spring-2022
“No individual mission soci ety can do what we holistically and creatively do as Synod — a sending agency with the ca pacity for such extensive plan ning, support and coordina tion,” said Robson. “The LCMS and her partners are uniquely positioned to carry out a com plex program like this with a wide range of resources, all made possible by generous contributors who prayerfully want to see the church grow. What a great blessing to see the Alliance Missionary proj ect blossom into reality, with the pure Gospel of Christ at its very foundation and center.”
The other document, signed between Schüler and Director of LCMS Church Relations Rev. Dr. Jonathan Shaw, set forth detailed protocol for the exchange of pastors and seminary professors between church bodies. Shaw spoke on the significance of the document in an address to the convention. “I [sign] this very humbly with thanks to God for Christ’s sake,” he said. The two shook hands afterward and later exchanged gifts, reflect ing the fellowship and ongoing partnership of the LCMS and the“JustIELB.as the LCMS began to send pastors to Brazil as missionaries over 100 years ago,” Shaw said, “this working agreement will help IELB pas tors come to the U.S., where they will especially serve [those of the] Portuguesespeaking diaspora from Brazil and around the world.”
Top: The Rev. Kevin Robson signs a document with the Rev. Geraldo Walmir Schüler. Bottom: The sun rises in Vitoria, Brazil.
Schüler, who was re-elected as president at the convention, remembers when his dear father passed away in 2017 after 87 years of life, “and the last
phrase he said in this world was ‘let me go live with Jesus.’ My father said this phrase which is an expression and confes sion of faith, and it is because confessional Lutheranism reached him. … Just as my father, hundreds and hundreds of people have fallen asleep in peace … because the LCMS was an instrument of God to bring this sweetness of the Gospel to “Today,Brazil.”we are over 240,000 confessional Lutherans in Brazil who enjoy the peace and the comfort that our fathers
Hear greetings from IELB President Rev. Geraldo Walmir Schüler: engage.lcms.org/brazil-convention-fall-2022
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Left: The Rev. Dr. Jonathan Shaw exchanges gifts with the Rev. Geraldo Walmir Schüler.
Right: The Rev. Airton Scheunemann Schroeder leads the opening worship service at the IELB convention.
The recent convention was another opportunity to give thanks for the Synod’s brothers and sisters in Brazil, who are rooted in Christ and who walk together with the LCMS in the one confession of Christ. “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity” (PSALM 133:1).
‘Let Me Go Live with Jesus’
have enjoyed,” Schüler contin ued. “And in addition to enjoy ing this peace, we can share it with our sons, grandsons and all our generations to come. In today’s partnership with the LCMS and the other churches in the world, we have the privilege to take the Gospel to people of other nationalities around the world, so that in other countries more people may rest in peace with the confidence that Jesus will be welcoming people into eternal life at the end just as it hap pened to my father.”
The Rev. Robert Paul, associate pastor and headmaster of Memorial Lutheran Church and School, Houston, holds the body and blood of Christ before the crowd at the Divine Service on July 12.
The first mass event kicks off in Minute Maid Park.
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‘In All Things’
Participants make cross-stitch bookmarks at the LCMS Life Ministry booth.
ON A SUNNY MORNING IN HOUSTON, around 20,000 LCMS youth and adults heard God’s Word, confessed their sins, received absolution and the Lord’s Supper, and sang together during a Divine Service at Minute Maid Park.
This service was the culmination of the five days of the 2022 LCMS Youth Gathering, held July 9–13 in Houston under the theme “In All Things,” based on Colossians 1:15–20. In a church body of around 1.8 million, Gathering attendees represented more than one out of every 100 LCMS Lutherans, as well as partner churches from 11 other countries.
Members of a youth group from Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Sun Prairie, Wis., build beds during a service project in the exhibit hall.
Youth chat in the LCMS Youth Ministry booth in the exhibit hall.
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The week was full of mass events, Bible studies, topical sessions and service projects. Youth groups donated blood, made recordings of books for Concordia Publishing House, and worked with LCMS Recognized Service Organizations like Lutheran Braille Workers and Orphan Grain Train. More than 4,500 participants were de ployed to serve throughout the city, and many others built beds for the nonprofit Sleep in Heavenly Peace that were then delivered to children in the Houston area.
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| READ MORE | lcms-youth-gathering/in-all-things-20000-attend-reporter.lcms.org/2022/ AROUND THE LCMS
“It’s a blessing to gather God’s people together in Houston,” said the Rev. Dr. Mark Kiessling, director of LCMS Youth Ministry. “We are thankful for the prayers and support of congregations, parents, pastors and church workers who made it possible for young people and adult leaders to be here.”
Participants make their way from the George R. Brown Convention Center to Minute Maid Park in Houston for an evening mass event on July 12.
From July 27 to 30, more than 240 people gathered under the theme “Empower the Next Generation.” The convocation was the fruit of work done by the Black Clergy Caucus, LCMS Black Ministry and the Black Ministry Think Tank. The gathering gave many an opportunity to discuss Black Ministry in the Synod, consid er its heritage and importance in the church’s life together, and deliberate on ways to empower the next generation. “You are on holy ground,” said the Rev. Dr. Ulmer Marshall Jr., pastor of Trinity. “Of the 35 or so churches and schools that Rosa Young started, we are the only one that is still standing. To God be the glory.”
Black Ministry Family Convocation
The Rev. Dr. Ulmer Marshall Jr., pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, Mobile, Ala., leads the opening Divine Service.
The Rev. Amos Gray IV talks with children about Jesus during the 2022 Black Ministry Family Convocation.
The Rev. Dr. Roosevelt Gray Jr., director of LCMS Black Ministry, addresses the convocation.
sing (above) and acolytes light the altar candles (right) during the opening Divine Service.
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Novelli-Oliveros gives the benediction.
| READ MORE | • About the Black Ministry Family Convocation: reporter.lcms.org/2022/black-ministry-convocation • About the Hispanic National Convention: reporter.lcms.org/2022/hispanic-national-convention
Participants gather for fellowship at the Hispanic National Convention.
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President Rev. Germán Novelli-Oliveros said, “The Himnario Luterano is already a blessing for churches in Latin America, and surely shall be an extraor dinary resource for Hispanic congregations in the U.S. It will strengthen our worship lives in our congregations and homes and will support our pastors as they prepare and plan their Divine Services.”
The Rev. Mauricio Franco, associate pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church, Harlingen, Texas, speaks at the convention.
The Rev. Luis Diaz, pastor of Faith
The Rev. Germán Novelli-Oliveros, president of the Hispanic Missionary League and pastor of Grace Lutheran Church, Milwaukee, holds a copy of the new Spanish hymnal.
It was a theme that echoed through not only the convocation but also the Hispanic National Convention the following week. Both gatherings were due to take place last year but were postponed due to COVID-19.
On July 27, during the 2022 Black Ministry Family Convocation at Trinity Lutheran Church in Mobile, Ala., LCMS Southern District President Rev. Eric Johnson referenced Galatians 3:28: “Paul said that there is neither Greek nor Jew, neither slave nor free, that we are all one in Christ, and that’s an important message that we need to continue to put forward in these divisive times.”
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The Rev. Micah Glenn, director of recruitment and enrollment at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, speaks during a panel discussion.
The seventh LCMS Hispanic National Convention was held in Orlando Aug. 2–5 under the theme “For We Are All One in Jesus Christ.” The event, organized by the Hispanic Missionary League (HML), served as the U.S. debut of the new Spanish Lutheran Hymnal, published in 2021 after a 14-year process. (For more on the hymnal, see Page 3.) All attendees at the conven tion were given a free copy of theOutgoinghymnal.HML
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