You Shall Live!

As of this writing, we are moving through the last days of Lent and coming into Holy Week. By far the highlight of the church year for me is the Easter Vigil. I know not every church has a vigil on the Saturday before Easter, but if you can find one in your area, I strongly urge you to go. I love the part of the service in which the Old Testament stories are shared.

One of my favorite Old Testament stories at the Easter Vigil is the story from Ezekiel 37:1-14—The Valley of the Dry Bones. The story is written to Israel, speaking to them of hope that God hasn’t forgotten them. I think it can speak to us as well as we sometimes get to wondering and worrying about the life and livelihood of the church.

The prophet sets the scene for us in verses 1-2. God took him to a valley “full of bones,” there were “many” and “they were very dry.” And then, in verse 3, God asked the prophet, “Mortal, can these bones live?”

What’s noteworthy here is that God is the one asking the “mortal” whether the bones can live! We may wonder whether a mere mortal can presume to know such a thing! Indeed the prophet punts the question right back to God. “O Lord, GOD, you know.”

As church, we do this a bit ourselves. We look about us and see what seems to us to be the hard parts of mission and ministry, and we feel overwhelmed. Oh, these bones. And they are very dry.

Maybe we’re in an established congregation that functioned well with one ministry model for decades, but somehow what worked before isn’t working any more. Can these bones live?

Perhaps the neighborhood around us has changed and we’re not sure if our church knows how to be “relevant” to our community now. Can these bones live?

It could be that pastors have changed, church isn’t the same as it was, and we don’t know if our new minister is going to make it work. Can these bones live?

God nudges us with a simple question—can these bones live? Or can this ministry live? God puts the question to us—not because God doesn’t know the answer—of course God knows! God puts the question to us because God knows we’re already wondering and worrying about these things. God says out loud the question that God knows is on our hearts—God starts the conversation, letting us know that our wondering and worrying can be done with God.

If we’re not sure, as Ezekiel wasn’t quite, we do well to put the question back to God. You see, God—Ezekiel’s God, Israel’s God, our God—is ready to put life in those bones. We as Christians know that our God is a God of resurrection—our God has power to enliven even the driest bones—power even over death itself!

When we have this conversation with God though, we might want to brace ourselves for what comes next. Even though God understands our wondering and worrying, God doesn’t want to leave us there. When God strikes up this conversation with us, God is also inviting us to “prophesy to the bones” and speak God’s promise of life to them. And oh, how those bones will rattle as they come together, bone to bone!

In our present context, it might mean that God asks us to change up our ministry model, build meaningful relationships with people we’ve never met, or embrace the gifts of new leadership. It may be difficult or uncomfortable for us. Some of these changes may involve a measure of grief for us. No matter how necessary or important change may be, it can still be challenging for us.

Oh the rattling.

I don’t think God is trying to rattle us. Rather, God is inviting us into these new phases of life in our mission and ministry to prophesy, breath, and Good-News-bear life into the dry and dying places around us.

Can these bones live? Can the church live?

God promises this in Ezekiel 37:14, “I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live.” God has poured out the Holy Spirit on the church. As long as we have the breath of life in us may we be stirred to mission and ministry that enlivens the world with God’s love.

You Shall Live!

Jennifer Clark Tinker

Mission Interpreter Coordinator

Gulf Coast Synod of the ELCA

In Memory of Kermit Westerholm

Kermit Westerholm, longtime friend and former employee of Texas Lutheran, recently passed away in Guadalupe Regional Medical Center in Seguin.  He was 89. 

Kermit worked in Texas Lutheran’s public relations and development offices from 1955 to 1965, when he left to open an insurance agency in Seguin.  Through the years he enthusiastically recruited students and raised money for Texas Lutheran.  He was a lifelong friend of countless alumni, often providing financial assistance and assisting students in finding employment after graduation. 

He and his wife, Carolyn, have been enthusiastic supporters of all aspects of life at TLU:  academics, athletics, music and other programs.  They were honored as Texas Lutheran’s honorary athletics coaches in 1985-86, and received the university’s Distinguished Community Service Award in 2005.  Kermit was inducted into TLU’s Athletics Leadership Wall of Honor in 2003.  He was a member of Texas Lutheran’s Development Board for many years. 

Kermit was a proud veteran of World War II, honored graduate of Texas A & I University (Texas A&M- Kingsville), and member of Faith Lutheran Church and many community organizations in Seguin. 

He is survived by his wife, Carolyn; son Mark and his wife Sharon; and daughter Mary and her husband Kerry.

March Mission Moment

“Give a person a sweater and you clothe them once. Teach a person to knit and you clothe them for a lifetime.” This could be the motto of a knitting school supported in part by gifts from ELCA members like you that is doing God’s work in Kenya.

The Nairobi International Lutheran Congregation sponsors the knitting school, which has approximately 25 young, female students. In a faith-based environment, the women learn to knit warm clothes as both a service to their communities and as a way to support themselves and their families.

The Rev. Michael Fonner is the pastor of the Nairobi International Lutheran Congregation. Michael and his wife, Leslie Weed-Fonner, are ELCA missionaries in Kenya. “As a program of the congregation, the knitting school is both an outreach to the local community and an income generating activity,” they say. It provides training to equip women to support themselves and their families, and also ensures warm clothes are provided where there is little heat during the cold season. These goals “are important to the Nairobi International Lutheran Congregation and the Kenya Evangelical Lutheran Church as we work toward self-reliance and financial independence,” they added.

“Congregations supporting the ELCA’a global mission work in Kenya are participants in the life-giving ministry of the Nairobi International Lutheran Congregation knitting school,” the Fonners said. “We are grateful for our church’s commitment to making a difference through global mission. This is ‘God’s work. Our hands.”

Your gifts to ELCA Global Church Sponsorship directly fund missionaries like the Rev. Michael Fonner and Leslie Weed-Fonner as they work hand in hand with our neighbors around the world. Thank you!

Learn more at https://community.elca.org/Kenya

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

Send me your congregation’s stories! We’d love to share them with our synod.

Christine Kuehl
TLGCS ELCA Mission Interpreter Coordinator
cedonahue@gmail.com

February Mission Moment

Peace Cannot Be Achieved Alone

Approximately 2.2 million people in the Central African Republic (CAR), one of the ELCA's companion churches, are in need of humanitarian assistance due to insecurity and intense violence occurring in the country. The United Nations estimates that 935,000 of these people have been forced from their homes due to the severity of fighting in their area. Some of these people have found refuge in various locations, such as churches, and some of these people are living in the bush, running from fighting groups as they attack nearby villages.  

            For Fredd and his family, the violence in their area started on a late Friday morning. As the violence continued that night, he and his family decided to move into the bush away from the village to spend the night in a friend's field about 10 kilometers away. As they traveled, they came across several other people who were also fleeing.

            "A Muslim man came and told us that someone had informed the Seleka that all those who lived on the east side of the village were Christian and those to the west were Muslim, so the Seleka were planning to move into the east and search for people even in the bush," Fredd says. "We decided to walk under the cover of darkness through the bush to the west side of town."

            Fredd and his family continued to walk to the next village since they could hear heavy gunfire from behind them. Within the group, there were several children, including three babies all under five months old. "The older children, including my eight-year-old daughter, all walked, while we carried the smaller ones," Fredd says.

            After walking through the next day and night, they decided to stop for a half hour to rest. Fredd's wife then caught a high fever and she couldn't walk. "We wrapped her in thick cloth, but she was still trembling very hard and complaining of cold," Fredd says. "We knew she had malaria."

            Fredd started to worry about what would happen to his wife if she died. Would he be able to bury her, or would he have to leave her body behind and follow the rest of the group? The group made a small fire and put her feet by it and prayed. After a couple of hours, Fredd's wife felt better and she could walk again.

            "This was a miracle for me," Fredd says. "She had been treated with prayer and a small fire. We walked for 12 days and finally made it to the clinic. Had it not been for the Muslim man, I believe this story would be different. I might not be telling this story."

            The Seleka rebel group is a largely Muslim alliance that seized the capital in March 2013. The group is now referred to as ex-Seleka rebels because the alliance has officially, but not actively nor effectively, disbanded. A mostly-Christian alliance, known as the anti-Balaka, formed in response to the Seleka rebel group and has also played a large role in attacks in the country. While both of these groups tend to be labeled by their religious affiliation, the fighting in the Central African Republic is not bound by the lines of religious war. The conflict in the country is a result of political power and economic grievances. Fredd's story illustrates the understanding that peace cannot be achieved alone—an inter-faith response is needed. 

            Lutheran Disaster Response – International is working with Lutheran World Federation and our synod’s companion church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Central African Republic (EELRCA), to provide food assistance to the displaced persons in the CAR. The ELCA has added $50,000 in humanitarian assistance to its relief commitment of $250,000 from August. The relief includes protection, food, hygiene and sanitation materials. We are also working with our companion church to play a role in peace-building and reconciliation between Muslim and Christian communities in the country. "We have a long-standing history with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Central African Republic, and we will continue to walk with our brothers and sisters on this road toward peace." said Vitaly Vorona, ELCA program director for Lutheran Disaster Response International.

Your gifts allow us to continue to address the needs of the most vulnerable and walk with our brothers and sisters toward peace. Thank you!!! 

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

For more information about Lutheran Disaster Response or to give, visit: http://www.elca.org/disaster.

Christine Donahue
TLGCS ELCA Mission Interpreter Coordinator

January Mission Moment

Bring Joy to the World

Today over 240 ELCA missionaries are heeding God’s call to share the good news of Jesus Christ. Some are teachers, others are doctors and others are pastors in some of the fastest growing churches around the world. Others still are young adults engaging in a life-changing year of global service. They all serve in response to invitations from our global companions in more than 40 countries.

No matter where or how they serve, every one of these missionaries needs your prayers, support and gifts to succeed in their work. Your gift connects you directly to these missionaries and enables you to participate in what God is doing around the world. You make their life-changing ministry happen.

Thanks to your support, missionaries like the Rev. Justin and Kari Eller are working alongside our com­panions in Christ throughout South America. They are making a difference through their involvement with ELCA projects like these:

•    Seminary education in Argentina

•    Primary health care in Chile

•    Microcredit in Bolivia

•    Mission outreach in Peru

•    Support for children in Brazil

•    Christian education in Latin America and the Caribbean

Kari says about the Lutherans in Bolivia, “We see the Bible come alive in hospitality, like a shawl put on your shoulders when you are cold. It’s a place where God’s glory can be seen in the perseverance of the women and men who, despite years of discrimination, continue to live a life that shines the light of Christ.”

Your gifts help make the Ellers’ ministry happen and bring joy to this world. Thank you!!

To find out more about other missionaries or to make a gift to ELCA missionaries today, visit:  www.ELCA.org/globalchurch/donate

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

Christine Donahue
cedonahue@gmail.com
TLGCS ELCA Mission Interpreter Coordinator