Bread for the Day

This is the new and very much improved version of Bread for the Day. I believe this fits very well our synod emphasis on connecting home and congregation. There is even a discount for group orders!

Bread for the Day is a daily-use devotional resource filled with rich treasures:

• A brief scripture reading (NRSV texts) for each day following the daily lectionary developed by the Consultation on Common Texts and presented in Evangelical Lutheran Worship
• A prayer and hymn for each day
• Brief yet helpful introductions to the seasons
• Table graces/meal prayers for the holidays and seasons
• Household blessings for special times throughout the year (for example: Blessing for the New Year, Blessing of the Home at Epiphany, Prayer for Placing Palms in the Home, Blessing of the Easter Meal, Blessings for Mother's and Father's Day, Remembering Those Who Have Died, Lighting the Advent Wreath, Blessing of the Christmas Tree)
• Monthly pages for recording prayer requests
• Notes on festivals and commemorations
• Simplified forms for morning and evening prayer
• Waking prayers and bedtime prayers, including prayers with children

Use Bread for the Day for personal, household, or group devotions. This is the perfect resource for individuals, congregations, households, Bible study groups, prayer groups, pastors, church councils, outreach teams, confirmation students, and teachers.

The most recent Bible orders are at the Resource Center! If you have placed an order in the last few weeks please stop by and pick yours up.

As of Friday we have 54 ordered toward our next order of 100. If you'd like to take advantage of this almost 1/2 price deal, call the Center or email right away.

Looking forward to sharing ideas of new resources in the coming weeks with you on my blog.

Muslim Resources for Dialogue, Part 2

Muslim Resources for Dialogue

Karen Matthias-Long, the resource center director of our partner synod, Northeast Pennsylvania, posted this very helpful email today in the Association of Lutheran Resource Center Directors List Serve.

I agree both with her assessment and her thankfulness for Professor Grafton's list of helpful websites. I'll share those resources in my next blog post.

Thanks Karen for sharing this with all of us. This is my way of sharing it with all of the congregations in our synod.

Here is Karen's email to us this morning:

I have been really disturbed by the misinformation, misplaced fear, and hate that have bubbled to the surface in a big way around the Muslim community center being planned near (not AT) ground zero. I decided that it would be helpful for congregations to have HELPFUL information about Islam/Muslims and our relationship with them. David Grafton, Associate Professor of Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations at LTSP, provided me with a wonderful list of resources. I thought you might be interested in these resources, too (although some – such as organizations and people resources – are probably most helpful for those living in NJ/PA).

Are any of you familiar with the NPR series, “This I Believe?” I found a link to Eboo Patel sharing a piece on what he believes for one of these “episodes.” For those of us who were fortunate enough to hear Eboo speak at the Communicator’s Conference, this story will be familiar. But, it is a story worth sharing here for those who didn’t hear him in Chicago – and it bears repeating for those of us who were there (it’s only 4 ½ minutes long):
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4989625

Blessings,
Karen Star

I was pleased to receive an email from Dr. Diane Shallue, the president of the Lutheran Association of Christian Educations (LACE). It included a flyer about an event called Generational Junction - a one day event on Sept 30 where Youth and Family Ministry meets Senior Ministry.

Dr. Janet Ramsey and Dr. Terri Elton from Luther Seminary are keynote speakers at this event at North Heights Lutheran Church in Arden Hills.

Marilyn Sharpe will be doing a workshop on faithful grandparenting.

Cost is $35 per person which includes lunch and materials. The time: 9 am - 3 pm.
Lyngblomsten Care Center is sponsoring this event. See www.lyngblomsten.org .
Registrations are due on Sept 20.

Teaching the Bible, Hosting the Conversation

As your resource center director and Book of Faith synod advocate, I'm always on the lookout for resources that will help you and your congregation encounter the Bible.

A critical role in the process is played by those leading bible studies in their homes or in their congregations.

Are you looking for material to enhance your teaching skills or support others who are teachers?

Teaching and learning the Bible is one of the primary faith formation practices for Christians. For members of the ELCA, the Book of Faith Initiative calls us to encounter the Scriptures in a deep and powerful way. Teaching the Bible, Hosting the Conversation helps support the development of teaching skills.

Taught by professors of Christian education, religion and the Bible at ELCA seminaries and colleges, this course explores the many facets of the church’s ministry of teaching, especially as it relates to the Bible. Focusing primarily on teaching adults, individual sessions examine the dynamics of adult learning, methodology, designing teaching/learning experiences, pastoral implications of teaching the Bible, multi-cultural considerations in exploring biblical texts, and the use of media in teaching.

1. Teaching as Conversation: Where Do We Begin?
2. Teachers and Learners: Relationships Matter
3. Adults as Learners: What Does the Brain Tell Us?
4. How We Teach Matters as Much as What We Teach
5. Hearing Other Voices: Multi-culture Encounters with the Bible
6. From Creche to the World Wide Web: Using Visual Media to Teach the Bible

I'm very pleased that their is an online version of this course that combines the use of the DVD lectures, reading assignments, and online interaction with fellow participants and the class facilitator, Diane E. Shallue, Ed.D., president of Lutheran Association of Christian Educators. You can find out more about how you can be part of this online course by contacting me at: gkaufmann@nwswi.org or 715-579-1556.

Lay School of Ministry Continuing Education Theme

I'm excited about this year's theme for continuing education of the Lay School of Ministry of the Northwest Synod of WI.

Dr. Martin Marty headlines a fabulous line-up of faculty, who will explore issues of our Christian history. Dr. Marty likes to quote a British scholar who explained why he was an historian: "Because I find everything so odd, and I wonder how it got that way." Others say, "we study history in order to interrupt and overcome history." Abraham Lincoln guides others: "If we could first know where we are and whither we are tending, we might know what to do and how to do it."

This course is open to all who are graduates of this synod's lay school, or any other lay school across the country!

For information, visit their website at: www.layschoolofministry.org or email me at: gkaufmann@nwswi.org or call me at 715-579-1556.

Biblical Stewardship: Duty and Delight

I’ve been previewing the sessions of Biblical Stewardship: Duty and Delight, as part of the editing team and Dr. Mark Allan Powell has hit a home run again. He engages the viewer well, his stories are “on the money” so to speak and the content is excellent. This seven session DVD resource, which comes with a robust study guide will be excellent for any congregation's fall stewardship program. At $49 it is affordable for almost everyone. It was listed in the Select Learning catalog mailed to all rostered leaders in July. It will be available for purchase September 1.
I highly recommend this resource!
Greg