Reaching Rural America for Christ A monthly e-newsletter of LCMS Rural & Small Town Mission Volume 5, Issue 1 • E-News
January 2014
Strong Faith, Fervent Love “We implore You that of Your mercy You would strengthen us through the same in faith toward You and in fervent love toward one another; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord …” (“Post-Communion Collect,” Lutheran Service Book)
Our “Life Together” • To follow the core beliefs of the LCMS • To equip rural professional and lay leaders • To support congregations in community engagement Remember: RSTM is eligible for Thrivent Choice Dollars!
Please Pray for These Important Dates Jan 11 Engaging Your Community Event
Salem Lutheran Church, Madelia, Minn., presented with the LCMS Minnesota South District 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. CST Jan. 16 Webinar Endowments, presented by Allen Helms, LCMS Foundation 1 – 2 p.m. CST Jan. 25 Engaging Your Community Event
St. John’s Lutheran Church, Aitkin, Minn., presented with the LCMS Minnesota North District 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. CST If you have an idea or story for Rural Outreach, contact Amy at the RSTM office. Phone: 888-463-5127 Email:
[email protected] HEADER: ISTOCK/THINKSTOCK
T
he Future Glory of Israel: “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising” (Is. 60:1–3). In this reading for Epiphany, the prophet Isaiah gives us the good news that the nations will come to Zion to see the Great Light that shines in this sin-darkened world. How exciting it is that through the coming of the Christ, we can share the strong faith and fervent love that we know by God’s grace. The issue, though, is timing. We are often all too ready to take on the war against Christmas when the season starts. But now as Epiphany is approaching, the weariness
of Christmas celebrations, family gatherings, special worship services and returning to a regular schedule make it difficult to “fervently love” others. Not to mention just one more year of over-commercialized, hyper-hyped, consumer-driven holiday madness. It’s no wonder that our own faith strengthening lags into a postChristmas slump that makes reaching out to others a less-than-high priority. However, we do not have to face this with weak resignation, as if we have no hope to change this reality. In fact, this is actually a great opportunity for us. Those in rural and small-town congregations can use this Epiphany season to not only have faith strengthened but to invite others in “fervent love” to know the same relief and peace that is yours in Christ. We can “lift our eyes up” and look to the one who came (Continued on page 2.)
RSTM Events Update Don’t forget: Rural & Small Town Mission provides free monthly webinars on topics important to congregations in town and country settings. Up next is Endowments, presented by Allen Helms of the LCMS Foundation on Thursday, Jan. 16, followed by Parish Nursing on Feb. 20. You can find our past webinars in our webinar archive on our website as a free resource for use when you need it. Our first Engaging Your Community (EYC) event of 2014 is Jan. 11, when the LCMS Minnesota South District will partner with us to present at Salem Lutheran Church in Madelia, Minn. After
that, the LCMS Minnesota North District will host an EYC at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Aitkin, Minn., on Jan. 25. To register, go to www.lcms.org/rstm/engagingyour-community or contact our office. For more information about the EYCs or to see the rest of our calendar, visit www.lcms.org/ rstm or contact our office at 888-463-5127 or
[email protected]. Reaching Rural America for Christ 1
Rural & Small Town Mission
eNewsletter | January 2014
Faith, Family, Freedom Faith, Family and the Freedom to Make Good Choices — Core Values of Rural Ministries Based on God’s Word contributed by tori trinche mission and ministry coordinator, lutherans for life LUTHERANS FOR LIFE believes that every human life — from conception to natural death, regardless of physical or mental challenges or condition of dependence — is precious in God’s sight. I recently attended the RSTM conference in Kansas City, where I had an opportunity to discuss with many pastors and lay leaders some of the challenges they face in caring for life issues and upholding mercy ministries in their congregations and communities. These issues are multifaceted, and they affect the very core of faith, family and freedom to make good and God-honoring choices in many areas of life. Some of these include protecting the unborn, sexual purity, helping those struggling with decisions around infertility, bioethics in the development of treatments that use human embryos for research and testing, helping those struggling to move beyond past choices of abortion to post-abortion healing, protecting the dignity and value of the elderly and infirm, and helping with resources for spiritual care and the practical aspects of end-oflife issues. These end-of-life issues include helping families to examine care and quality
LCMS Rural & Small Town Mission supports and encourages rural and small-town congregations in engaging their communities and growing together in Christ through Word and Sacrament. If you have a good idea for outreach or a story you’d like to share so that we can share it with others, please email Amy Gerdts at
[email protected]. Learn more about RSTM at www.lcms.org/rstm or by calling Amy at 888-463-5127. Click the Give Now button below to support the work of RSTM.
The mission of Lutherans For Life is to equip Lutherans to be Gospel-motivated voices “For Life.” of life when making Christ-centered decisions on advance directives, such as health care, power of attorney and wills. The mission of Lutherans For Life is to equip Lutherans to be Gospel-motivated voices “For Life.” This makes us different from other for-life groups. We want to equip Lutherans to be positive, life-affirming voices that uphold the truth of the God-given value of human life both in local congregations and in society. Lutherans For Life has a nationwide network of state federations, chapters, life advocates and life ministry coordinators across the country, and the organization is
helping to develop life teams in individual congregations across America to help our pastors deal with life issues in their individual congregations. We strive to affirm that each human life is created and gifted by God, that each human life is someone for whom Jesus Christ died and that each human life is someone the Holy Spirit desires to call into an eternal relationship with Him. In short, our mission is to change hearts. Those with changed hearts will change society. Only God, working through the power of His Gospel, can change hearts. That is why the Gospel motivates all that we do.
Strong Faith, Fervent Love (Continued from page 1.) and the one who will come again and know that it isn’t about who we are or how we feel, it is about who He has made us to be as His body, the Church. “Lift up your eyes all around, and see …
. Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and exult, because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you” (Is. 60:4–5). Reaching Rural America for Christ 2
