Article Archive
The Man With No Shoes
Most people know him as the man with no shoes. He lives on the street and plays the piano. Some of us know him as Raymond, the English name he shares because most of us can't pronounce his Chinese name. I have heard Raymond speak of Communist China, and there is something about living in an institution where he was forced to wear ill-fitting shoes that tortured his feet; but Raymond speaks to us through the piano, the instrument he learned to play by developing a mathematical system to translate the notes....
Furaha ya Krismasi!
"We would like to send our warmest wishes for a Joyous Christmas and Happy New Year to all of the congregations of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod and to the Bishop and staff," missionaries Tom and Susan MacPherson write in their Christmas message from Tanzania. "Our Christmas tree (pictured) is made of pine cones, tissue paper and construction paper."
"The Grace of God Has Appeared"
In his 2011 Christmas message, ELCA presiding bishop Mark S. Hanson draws on Titus' announcement of God-with-us. Christ's nativity reminds us that "God creates with deep beauty and profound mystery," the bishop writes. God's grace has appeared for a yearning and hurting world and for you, no matter how weary, worried or wondering you may be.
LDR Mission Trip Opportunities
Lutheran Disaster Response volunteers are helping families and individuals recover from natural disasters both near and far. Teams from Advent Lutheran Church, Harleysville; St. John’s Lutheran Church, Sumneytown; St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, Pennsburg and Trinity Lutheran Church, Lansdale have scheduled 2012 work team/mission team trips to Bloomsburg, PA, the Mississippi Gulf Coast and Joplin, MO. There are openings for adults 18 and over if people from your congregation would like to participate in one of these trips. The dates and locations are: January 8 to 13 to Bloomsburg, PA // February 11 to 18 to the MS Gulf Coast // March 10 to 17 to the MS Gulf Coast // April 14 to 21 to Joplin, MO
Last-Minute Gifts Make a Difference
Together as the ELCA, we do more than we could ever do alone: grow our congregations, inspire new leaders and care for those around the world who live with hunger and poverty. ELCA Good Gifts are a creative way to do just that. Your gifts go beyond your regular congregational offering to support the ministries of the ELCA that mean the most to you and your loved ones.
Purpose and Promise
"Christ is a purpose and a promise bigger than the troubles and trauma we encounter every day in our lives and our world," Bishop Claire S. Burkat writes in her Christmas message to the Synod. In all circumstances, but especially at Christmas, we can apply St. Paul's encouragement to express joy daily, pray as often as we breathe, and live in gratitude.
Secretary Clinton Highlights Lutheran Social Ministry
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton noted the vital work of Lutheran social ministry organizations in welcoming refugees to the United States, during her Dec. 7 address at the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugee's ministerial conference in Geneva.
Gifts Overflow from Christmas Ingathering
More than 75 SEPA congregations participated in the 2011 Christmas Ingathering sponsored by Liberty Lutheran Services on Dec. 4.
Follow Our Missionaries Via Blog
You can now follow the adventures of Susan and Tom MacPherson, who are embarking on two years of service as missionaries in Tanzania, via their new blog called Partners in Mission. Recent posts cover their adjustment to their new home and their challenges studying Kiswahili, their new primary language.
AIDS Day: Remembrance and Hope
Lutheran and Episcopal Christians have long been invested in improving life for persons living with HIV and AIDS, yet unless efforts are increased "we face the danger that our dream of an AIDS-free generation will remain just that," ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson and Episcopal Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefforts Schori wrote in a World AIDS Day message to the churches Nov. 29. The annual commemoration on Dec. 1 "is an opportunity for us to remember the 30 million lives that have been lost to the deadly pandemic over the last three decades, to rededicate our energies in support of those 34 million living with HIV and AIDS today and to work toward building a future without AIDS," the bishops wrote.
