ELC Jordan and Holy Land Libraries Project

I thought you might like to read about this new project and perhaps get involved with it.

JERUSALEM, January 5, 2011 - The ELCJHL is pleased to invite our friends around the world to partner with us in a new and exciting project! With your help, it is our goal to equip each of our four k-12 schools with new English-language resources. Visit our bookstore to donate a book to the ELCJHL Libraries Project: Opening a World of Possibilities!

About our project...
The schools of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land have been providing excellent education for students in Palestinian communities since 1851 - regardless of gender, race, religion, or ability to pay.
The schools teach English from Kindergarten through the 12th grade, equipping students for dialogue with international partners and expanding their opportunities for college and careers.
Through the ELCJHL Libraries Project: Opening a World of Possibilities, we invite you to accompany teachers in the Holy Land as they build libraries that foster a love of language and learning right from the start.
A great book has the power to open a world of possibilities!

Click here to visit our bookstore now! or follow the links below for more information about this project and how you can get involved.

Lutheran Dramas by a Lutheran Pastor

In the most recent Seeds for the Parish magazine (Dec. 2010), I noticed a short article titled: "Fun and Easy Christmas Pageants." I checked out the related website: www.faithdrama.com, and was very pleased to find a large number of religious dramas that could be put on by almost any congregation. I encourage you to check out his website. The plays are very reasonably priced. Here is what John says about himself on his website:

John P. Trump is the senior pastor at St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church in Columbia, S.C. After graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in English from Muhlenburg College in Pennsylvania, Pastor Trump earned a Masters in Fine Arts in theater with an emphasis in playwriting from Columbia University’s School of the Arts in New York City and a Master of Divinity degree from Yale University. He served churches in New York City before heading south to join the Hurricane Hugo relief effort, and there he still resides as pastor, husband, father of twin sons, playwright and marathon runner.

Trump has been commissioned to write numerous plays for churches, colleges and theaters for a myriad of special projects and celebrations. "A Twisted Cord" is to be published by Erdman’s Publishing Co., and "Katie Luther: A Burr to a Topcoat" was winner of the Best Script Award in a national competition sponsored by the Episcopal Church in America.

Trump is a co-founder and project director for Dramarama, a summer drama camp for at-risk youth. He has also written and published a children’s book for twins.

World Hunger Resources for Congregations

This wonderful resource was shared on the Assistant to the Bishop's List Serve. Why not use this resource to help your congregation live out our calling to serve those in need. Here are the details, shared by Beth Ann Stone.

Our synod’s World Hunger Task Force created a series of materials, available free as downloads from our website, for congregations to use for a five-week emphasis on responding to hunger…perfect for mid-week Lenten services/programs (or other times of year). The materials introduce the topic in week one, then focus each week on one of the four pillars of the ELCA World Hunger appeal: relief, development, education, and advocacy. Here’s the link: http://www.uss-elca.org/for-congregations/2011-world-hunger-lenten-series.

Here’s a publicity blurb about it, edited to be appropriate for another synod’s use:

FREE SERIES MATERIALS ON WORLD HUNGER
A free 2011 World Hunger Series, “Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread” is now available online! Created by members of the Upper Susquehanna Synod (ELCA), the comprehensive materials include: Bible studies, worship services, drama/dialogue sermons, children’s sermons, meal ideas, table prayers, take-home family devotions, and fundraising ideas. Click here to download items as Word or PDF files: http://www.uss-elca.org/for-congregations/2011-world-hunger-lenten-series. The versatile collection may be used for mid-week Lenten programs, Sundays in Lent, or at any time of the year for a congregational focus on God’s call to feed the hungry. Congregations may also wish to order free resources from ELCA World Hunger to complement their Hunger emphasis. Coin bank boxes for adults and children, color brochures, calendars, and other materials are available at no charge through the ELCA Resource Catalog at: http://www.elca.org/Our-Faith-In-Action/Responding-to-the-World/ELCA-World-Hunger/Resources.aspx. “Give us this day our daily bread; may all the world be clothed and fed.”

The Rev. Beth Ann L. Stone
Assistant to the Bishop, Upper Susquehanna Synod
PO Box 36
Lewisburg, PA 17837
570-524-9778

Lenten Resources

I know, I know, Christmas isn't even here yet, and I'm talking about Lent! But sometimes it helps to plan ahead.... Last Tuesday, November 30th, Resource Center directors and Assistant directors, had a conference call with Augsburg Fortress representatives. The topic was "Lenten Resources", so I thought perhaps it would be a good idea to let you know what is available for this coming year of 2011.

From the Book of Faith publications: a brand new Lenten study by Katherine Kleinhans called, "Seven Wonders of the Word" using themes from God's Word: Creates, Calls, Commands, Saves, Sustains, Shapes and Sends; last year's study, "Marks of a Christian" by David L. Miller; and 2009's study, "40 Days with the Lord's Prayer". These are great, in-depth studies from which students will get a lot of insights. The last one listed on the Lord's Prayer has been reprinted 6 times, the most reprints of a Lenten study in a decade!

Also, "Music Sourcebook for Lent and the Three Days" will expand your collection of great music for the congregation; "Worship Guidebook for Lent and the Three Days" has all kinds of new ideas and possibilities for the congregation's experience.

These are wonderful publications that will enhance your planning and the congregation's participation. Check out other "on sale" items from Augsburg Fortress soon.

Lutheran Questions, Lutheran Answers

Are you looking for a resource that helps you understand what Lutheran's believe? Are you wondering how Lutherans respond to a number of issues that confront us as we begin the 21st century? Lutheran Questions, Lutheran Answers by Dr. Martin Marty is the book you are looking for. I shared a copy of it with every pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Malawi. They found it very helpful. To watch a Youtube video of a Malawi pastor describing this resource as well as the entire Pastor's Academy, click on this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uz-ON_rWJU0

This book, along with other helpful resources published by Augsburg Fortress, is available to preview at our resource center.

Stewardship emphasis

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!

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.