Light Shines in the Darkness

"On September 4^th 2011, strong winds drove a wild fire through the field and woodlands of camp Lutherhill, north of La Grange.

The strong winds of dedication led firefighters and neighbors to give special care to much that is precious to the Lutherhill community – the Carby Chapel, the dining hall, the new cabins. Even before the firefighters arrived, neighbors took it upon themselves to cut through the back fence and wet down around buildings.  Tree Chapel, a special place to many at Lutherhill, was in the direct path of the fire running through the field- but remains standing due to a back burn being lit by the firefighters to protect this special place.  Through the night one volunteer fire department after another drove through the site, returning to report that minimal structural damage had occurred.

The strong winds of love for Lutherhill led volunteers to help.  The day after the fire, over 60 volunteers showed up to help clean up, to contain hot spots that still burned, and to express their love for this place and its ministry through their actions.  Two additional workdays saw over 270 people give their time and energy to clear out burned areas, to create defensible space around cabins, and to clean up areas that had already been cleared by bulldozers.

The winds of moisture laden clouds brought rain, again and again, to produce new growth in stressed trees, to fill the pond, to create a beautiful green field instead of the charred grass and to prepare the land for the planting of donated trees later this spring.

The winds of the Spirit has sparked the imagination of many to envision new programs and structures made possible by the destruction of the fire – a new canteen structure to serve the pond and ropes course areas replaces a grove of trees, a new pump shed houses the pond pump to replace the one that was destroyed, and new worship and bible study sites wait to be discovered.

Yes, as our retreat and summer theme suggests – the Light shines bright at Lutherhill.”

-Matt Kindsvatter and Lawrence Bade

As the strong winds of grace blow over, around, and within us this Easter season, we remember that through Jesus’ resurrection, sin has lost its power and Light forever shines in the darkness.

Through your faithful and generous gifts to our synod, Lutherhill is able to touch the lives of over 8,000 children, youth, and adults every year in a way that cannot be experienced anywhere else! Thank you!

To find more about Lutherhill, visit www.lutherhill.org

We cannot be quiet about what we have seen and heard! Acts 4:20

Christine Donahue

TLGCS ELCA Mission Interpreter Coordinator

February Mission Minute

It began one evening in 2003 a candle-lit room in Monrovia, the capital city of Liberia.  

A young woman named Leymah Gbowee gathered a group of 20 women and invited them to share their stories. They spoke of husbands and sons murdered, sisters and daughters raped, and children dying from hunger- the brutal results of the country’s civil war that began in 1989.

These women had mourned in silence until Leymah urged them to take action in the name of peace. Soon the group of 20 grew to thousands.

Known as the “women dressed in white,” the “Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace” marched, prayed, and picketed in silence and demanded meetings with government and rebel leaders. With Leymah at the helm, their non-violent movement helped to successfully end Liberia’s 14-year civil war.

Leymah admits that she never believed her efforts would take her where she is today, including winning the Nobel Peace Prize in October 2011.  She was simply trying to secure a future for her six children.

“The one way I see us changing this world is by speaking up, standing up,” Leymah says. “It’s time to say to the evils of this world, ‘Go back to the shadows, because the good is taking in the light.’”

Since childhood, Leymah has been an active member of the Lutheran Church of Liberia, a companion church of the ELCA. She attended Lutheran schools, and her “first connection with God came from attending the Lutheran church.”

Later Leymah became president of the women’s organization at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Monrovia, and she worked as a case worker for the Lutheran Church in Liberia’s Trauma Healing and Reconciliation Program, supported by the ELCA. As a case manager, Leymah was sent to work with child soldiers, a “transforming” experience for her.

Leymah was the recipient of the ELCA International Leadership Development scholarship that supported her studies in peace building at Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, Virginia, in 2005.

“Providing opportunities for education and training are key ways in which we accompany our global companions in their efforts to expand their leadership and institutional capacities,” says Tammy Jackson, director of the ELCA churchwide program. 

Like Leymah, we have all have a story to tell. We cannot keep quiet about what we have seen and heard!

Our ELCA, sixty-five synods participate in over 120 international companionships. These companionships extend the bilateral relationships between our churches and Lutheran church bodies in other countries. “When companions engage one another in authentic relationships, everyone's lives are changed,” says Peggy Contos Hahn, 
Assistant to the Bishop for Global Mission. Your congregation’s Mission Support dollars helped make Leymah’s story possible. Thank you!

For more information on the companion synod program, go to www.elca.org/companionsynod or click here.

Christine Donahue
Mission Interpreter Coordinator
cedonahue@gmail.com