Posts
If you are looking for stewardship materials, I would like to suggest two or three among the many we have available at the Resource Center.
One is by Harry Wendt: In Heaven's Name, Why On Earth? A New Testament Approach to Stewardship & Life Management. There is a Leader's Manual, a Participant Book and a DVD that you can use to prepare to lead the group or just play it in the class for discussion. Call your Council and Committees together to get them on board with the materials, and then lead other small groups. Good material.
The second one is a DVD by Dr. Mark Allan Powell: Our Duty and Delight. In Powell's great style of teaching, this is definitely a plus for your congregation to view.
A third one was written by our own Bishop Duane Pederson a few years ago, called Hooked on Mission. It is a DVD that contains all you need for pulling off this "fishing language" instruction for giving, including bulletin covers, letters to send, commitment card, newsletter suggestions, and many more helps.
Contact your friendly Resource Center for help in planning your yearly stewardship way-of-living program!
Monday, November 15, 2010
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Hope in a difficult time
I wanted to post this from Bishop Mark Hanson so those who visit our blog would be sure to see it. It needs to be used in our churches, homes and schools. It might help in giving our young people hope in a difficult time in their lives. I pray for those who read it, that they may find the strength and courage to continue their lives in joy!
ELCA Presiding Bishop Tells Young People 'It Gets Better'
10-275-JB
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In a video essay posted on You Tube, the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) offered reassurance to young people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, saying, "You are a beloved child of God."
The Rev. Mark S. Hanson said he wanted to speak honestly to young people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, and offer hope.
"Your life carries the dignity and beauty of God's creation," Hanson said. "God has called you by name and claimed you forever. There is a place for you in this world and in this church."
Hanson recorded the video in response to numerous recent reports of gay teenagers who have been bullied, with some taking their own lives. The video can be viewed at http://www.ELCA.org/itgetsbetter on the ELCA website.
Hanson said he has listened "with pain and shock" to recent reports of young people who committed suicide, the result of abuse they have suffered because of their sexual orientations.
"I can only imagine what it's like to be bullied for being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender," he said. "But I do know how bullying can destroy someone."
Hanson, the father of six children and four grandchildren, told a story about his daughter. He came home one day and found her curled up in a fetal position on the floor weeping uncontrollably. She was struggling to know "who she was as a biracial young woman," he said.
"She felt bruised by words people had spoken about her, words that ate away at her sense of identity and self-worth. I sat down by her on the floor holding her in my arms," Hanson said.
Words have the power to both harm and heal, he said. "Sometimes the words of my Christian brothers and sisters have hurt you," Hanson told viewers, "and I also know that our silence causes you pain."
Hanson recorded his video after results of a survey were released last week by the Public Religion Research Institute. It showed that two of every three Americans believe that people who are gay commit suicide at least partly because of messages sent from churches and other place of worship.
Hanson added that as a Christian, he trusts God is working in the world for justice and peace "through you and through me."
"It gets better," he said.
Hanson's video will be submitted to the recently initiated online video project, "It Gets Better," at http://www.itsgetsbetter.com on the Web. Several public figures and celebrities have contributed video testimonials reassuring young people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender that the bullying and torment they experience in their daily lives, especially in high school, will end, and that there's a better life ahead.
Viewers are also directed to The Trevor Project, a crisis and suicide prevention hotline.
More than 3,000 video essays have been contributed to "It Gets Better." Last week, President Obama contributed a video to the project. The Rev. V. Gene Robinson, a gay man who is bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire, also contributed a video piece.
ELCA Presiding Bishop Tells Young People 'It Gets Better'
10-275-JB
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In a video essay posted on You Tube, the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) offered reassurance to young people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, saying, "You are a beloved child of God."
The Rev. Mark S. Hanson said he wanted to speak honestly to young people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, and offer hope.
"Your life carries the dignity and beauty of God's creation," Hanson said. "God has called you by name and claimed you forever. There is a place for you in this world and in this church."
Hanson recorded the video in response to numerous recent reports of gay teenagers who have been bullied, with some taking their own lives. The video can be viewed at http://www.ELCA.org/itgetsbetter on the ELCA website.
Hanson said he has listened "with pain and shock" to recent reports of young people who committed suicide, the result of abuse they have suffered because of their sexual orientations.
"I can only imagine what it's like to be bullied for being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender," he said. "But I do know how bullying can destroy someone."
Hanson, the father of six children and four grandchildren, told a story about his daughter. He came home one day and found her curled up in a fetal position on the floor weeping uncontrollably. She was struggling to know "who she was as a biracial young woman," he said.
"She felt bruised by words people had spoken about her, words that ate away at her sense of identity and self-worth. I sat down by her on the floor holding her in my arms," Hanson said.
Words have the power to both harm and heal, he said. "Sometimes the words of my Christian brothers and sisters have hurt you," Hanson told viewers, "and I also know that our silence causes you pain."
Hanson recorded his video after results of a survey were released last week by the Public Religion Research Institute. It showed that two of every three Americans believe that people who are gay commit suicide at least partly because of messages sent from churches and other place of worship.
Hanson added that as a Christian, he trusts God is working in the world for justice and peace "through you and through me."
"It gets better," he said.
Hanson's video will be submitted to the recently initiated online video project, "It Gets Better," at http://www.itsgetsbetter.com on the Web. Several public figures and celebrities have contributed video testimonials reassuring young people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender that the bullying and torment they experience in their daily lives, especially in high school, will end, and that there's a better life ahead.
Viewers are also directed to The Trevor Project, a crisis and suicide prevention hotline.
More than 3,000 video essays have been contributed to "It Gets Better." Last week, President Obama contributed a video to the project. The Rev. V. Gene Robinson, a gay man who is bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire, also contributed a video piece.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Youth Resources
40 FREE Relational Faith and Life Discussions
Conversational Bible Studies!
Each written by a Peer Ministry Leadership student at Augsburg College in Minneapolis, MN or at Concordia University in St. Paul, MN.
Each faith and life discussion is based on one of Search Institute’s 40 Developmental Assets, the very building blocks that kids need to succeed!
Go to Click on “Resources” and go to the “40 Free Discussions” tab! Use these student written discussions as they are or adapt as you need for your group. Download pdf copies as you need.
Specializing in equipping youth and families for ministry to be lived...
Lyle Griner
www.peermin@peerministry.org
Conversational Bible Studies!
Each written by a Peer Ministry Leadership student at Augsburg College in Minneapolis, MN or at Concordia University in St. Paul, MN.
Each faith and life discussion is based on one of Search Institute’s 40 Developmental Assets, the very building blocks that kids need to succeed!
Go to
Specializing in equipping youth and families for ministry to be lived...
Lyle Griner
www.peermin@peerministry.org
ELCA Resources
This is an email received at the Resource Center, and I thought readers should be notified of changes happening at churchwide and how orders will be handled.
"I want to give you an update on the new ELCA distribution center, which will
handle all future orders for ELCA resources.
Augsburg Fortress stopped taking orders for churchwide-developed resources
effective October 20, at 5:00 p.m. CDT. (Staff who are responsible for
resource development within each unit have been working with us for a few
months to make this possible.)
Callers or visitors looking for churchwide products on the Augsburg Web site
immediately will be directed to contact the new distribution center at
800-638-3522, ext. 2580. As of October 25, 2010, orders can also be placed
online www.elca.org/resources.
Northern Printing Network will manage the distribution center for us. You
may see their name and logo (or the acronym "NPN") on invoices and
correspondence related to orders.
ELCA resources previously carried by Augsburg Fortress are being transferred
to the new warehouse this week and next. Backorders will be filled by
November 8.
We are working closely with the Web team to update ELCA.org with all the
correct order information for ELCA resources.
Thank you for your patience as we make the transition to our new
distribution center. If you have any questions, please call 800-638-3522,
ext. 2580. I will send another update about the transition in the next few
days.
Sincerely,
Scott J. Hendrickson
Associate Executive Director for Communication Services"
"I want to give you an update on the new ELCA distribution center, which will
handle all future orders for ELCA resources.
Augsburg Fortress stopped taking orders for churchwide-developed resources
effective October 20, at 5:00 p.m. CDT. (Staff who are responsible for
resource development within each unit have been working with us for a few
months to make this possible.)
Callers or visitors looking for churchwide products on the Augsburg Web site
immediately will be directed to contact the new distribution center at
800-638-3522, ext. 2580. As of October 25, 2010, orders can also be placed
online www.elca.org/resources.
Northern Printing Network will manage the distribution center for us. You
may see their name and logo (or the acronym "NPN") on invoices and
correspondence related to orders.
ELCA resources previously carried by Augsburg Fortress are being transferred
to the new warehouse this week and next. Backorders will be filled by
November 8.
We are working closely with the Web team to update ELCA.org with all the
correct order information for ELCA resources.
Thank you for your patience as we make the transition to our new
distribution center. If you have any questions, please call 800-638-3522,
ext. 2580. I will send another update about the transition in the next few
days.
Sincerely,
Scott J. Hendrickson
Associate Executive Director for Communication Services"
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
2011 Vacation Bible School
To keep you up-to-date: Augsburg Fortress will not be producing a new VBS kit for 2011. Promotion will be for the re:new kit - The Green VBS from 2010 with up-dates. Your Synod Resource Center had held VBS workshops for the past 7 or 8 years on the Saturday before Thanksgiving; in other words, the opening day for Wisconsin deer hunting. It was a time for women and children to get together and find out what would be available for the summer learning adventure. We will not be doing that this year.
Baobab Blast will still be offered, so if you didn't have the opportunity in 2010 to learn more about Africa, especially our companion synod in Malawi, now is your chance to catch up. Remember, we have on hand to enhance your program, many wonderful items from Malawi, courtesy of Diane Kaufmann, who has collected some excellent things for display and some for useage.
Simply call us: 715-833-1153 and reserve what you need for a meaningful, top-notch experience for the young people in your congregation/neighborhood.
Baobab Blast will still be offered, so if you didn't have the opportunity in 2010 to learn more about Africa, especially our companion synod in Malawi, now is your chance to catch up. Remember, we have on hand to enhance your program, many wonderful items from Malawi, courtesy of Diane Kaufmann, who has collected some excellent things for display and some for useage.
Simply call us: 715-833-1153 and reserve what you need for a meaningful, top-notch experience for the young people in your congregation/neighborhood.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
New Resource
For those of you with standing orders at the Alban Institute, you'll have received Bob Sitze's beautiful new book, "It's Not Too Late: A Field Guide for Hope." If you don't have a copy, rush out this minute to buy it! It's a stunning collection of short reflections, quotes, texts and questions that celebrate the realities of life through the lens of hope. It's a book for personal balance and well-being, for small group discussion, and just about any other kind of setting. Highly recommended for trying times! BTW, there's a study guide in the works too which I'll share here as soon as I get it. (This from Julie Aageson, Resource Center director from Eastern North Dakota Synod) We have it here in our Northwest Synod of WI Resource Center available for check out as soon as it is returned from a pastor who checked it out at the Fall Ministry Retreat! Get your name on the list.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Flannel Fortress Video
I just finished watching a four minute video titled "Flannel Fortress" which tells the story of Augsburg Publishing House. Beth Lewis sent me the link and asked that we share it. This is an engaging video, and I recommend playing it for your confirmation class, your adult Bible study groups, and Sunday morning if you use video projection.
Beth's letter tells the story of how it was created.
Enjoy,
Greg
Dear Friends:
What in the world is a “Flannel Fortress?”
It's a fun new video created to explain who Augsburg Fortress, sparkhouse and Fortress Press are to customers, prospective writers, prospective employees, and anyone else who wants to know!
A few months ago, my brother, who works as a sales manager for McGraw Hill (publishing runs in our blood...we have two cousins who work for MH, too!) sent me a link to a video that their corporate communications folks had put together talking about their sense of "mission" (I'm not sure that they exactly used that word, but that was the sense) as publishers....not just a Fortune 500 profit-oriented company. While the talking heads were a bit dull, the idea was interesting to me.
So, I sent it to our in-house video team. I said something like, "could we do something like this but not boring, talking corporate heads? And, without spending much money?" (tall order!) But, of course....they came through! They proceeded to interview a whole bunch of AF colleagues to ask about our reasons for working here, our sense of call, what Augsburg Fortress and Fortress Press and sparkhouse stand for, etc. Then, they went to work. They came up with the idea to play with a "flannel board" much like many of us used in the "pre-PowerPoint and video" days of Sunday School and to have some fun while getting across the sense of call that we feel for our work.
So, here it is ! Enjoy! Feel free to share it with friends, family, customers, and random strangers you meet along the way, post it, etc.
Blessings,
Beth
Beth's letter tells the story of how it was created.
Enjoy,
Greg
Dear Friends:
What in the world is a “Flannel Fortress?”
It's a fun new video
A few months ago, my brother, who works as a sales manager for McGraw Hill (publishing runs in our blood...we have two cousins who work for MH, too!) sent me a link to a video that their corporate communications folks had put together talking about their sense of "mission" (I'm not sure that they exactly used that word, but that was the sense) as publishers....not just a Fortune 500 profit-oriented company. While the talking heads were a bit dull, the idea was interesting to me.
So, I sent it to our in-house video team. I said something like, "could we do something like this but not boring, talking corporate heads? And, without spending much money?" (tall order!) But, of course....they came through! They proceeded to interview a whole bunch of AF colleagues to ask about our reasons for working here, our sense of call, what Augsburg Fortress and Fortress Press and sparkhouse stand for, etc. Then, they went to work. They came up with the idea to play with a "flannel board" much like many of us used in the "pre-PowerPoint and video" days of Sunday School and to have some fun while getting across the sense of call that we feel for our work.
So, here it is
Blessings,
Beth
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