Tanzania Trip in the News

A link to the Post-Bulletin newspaper article for Daryl & Jane’s recent mission trip to Tanzania can be found here:
http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?z=28&a=413550

Slow

The Second Lesson for Sunday, August 30, 2009 is James 1:17-27.
You must understand this, my Beloved:  let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness.                          -James 1:19

I cannot think of a better passage for this week in the ELCA.  I have simply stopped reading the [...]

Bishop Hanson’s Pastoral Remarks

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America made some historic policy changes this past week at the Churchwide Assembly in Minneapolis.  It is worth a moment, before reacting, to consider these comments from Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson. 
Please continue to pray for the ELCA, its pastors, leaders, and laypersons, as we consider how these changes might be [...]

Choose This Day

As I write, the ELCA is meeting and deliberating in the Churchwide Assembly in Minneapolis.  Many viewpoints have been offered, many testimonies given, many ministries celebrated, and many prayers prayed.
As I write, I am looking forward to Sunday’s worship, the 12th Sunday after Pentecost, August 23, 2009.  There are some great text offered this week, that [...]

ELCA Churchwide Assembly Begins

August 17-23 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
You can check out the happenings online here.  There’s plenary material to browse, sessions to watch (streaming online), and you can view sessions later on-demand. 
IF YOU ARE HAVING TROUBLE with stuttering on the streaming connection, read the instructions on the page below the “launch player” button (this button only appears when [...]

On Wisdom

Researchers in positive psychology have defined wisdom as the coordination of “knowledge and experience” and “its deliberate use to improve well being.”  With this definition, wisdom can supposedly be measured using the following criteria:

A wise person can discern the core of important problems.
A wise person has self-knowledge.
A wise person seems sincere and direct with others.
Others [...]

Global Links

Interested in God’s people around the world?
GLOBAL LINKS
Connect to the global church through elca.org

FIRE IN CONGO
In the morning of July 8, 2009, a fire broke out in Goma, a provincial capital in the Democratic Republic of Congo, leaving homeless 777 families (4500 individuals or more).  See http://www.elca.org/disaster
PREACHING IN SLOVAKIA
…During the second service in Háj, my [...]

Tanzania Update

Greetings to all from Tanzania. We are all well. We have finished our work at Bomalang’ombe Secondary School. There is much left to do, but we have done what we can for now. We are in Iringa now and will take a day of holiday and then begin our journey home. Thank everyone for all [...]

ELCA Youth Gathering News Article

Think 37,000 ELCA youth let loose in a big city sounds like nothing but trouble? 
Think again.

I Am, and I Will

The Gospel text for Sunday, August 9, 2009 is continuation of the bread of life theme.  You can read the section assigned for Sunday here.

There are many words and phrases that are meant to stand out in the Gospel of John.  Words like “belief” or “sign” or “darkness/light” weave in and through the stories and [...]