Faith O u t s t r e t c h e d

To be reborn, we must die

2008-05-01T10:24:00.001-05:00

Obviously my best made plans have not come to fruition. I have not posted faithfully to this blog, so within the week I am going to let it die. Hopefully I will start another blog sometime soon. Blessings to you all!

Diaconal Ministry

2008-02-07T19:02:00.000-05:00

I have been blessed because I have just been called to Trinity Lutheran Church as a Diaconal Minister. Thing is, not many know what a Diaconal Minister is. Well, it is a rostered position in the ELCA and it is a ministry of Word and Service. You can learn more about it on the Diaconal Community web site.

LWF Youth Blog

2007-10-16T09:37:00.000-05:00

My oldest son, Ray, just started his journey to ordained ministry at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. For the past three years or so, he has travelled more than anyone I know - this is the reason I have the blog listed to the right "Where in the World is Ray?" First, he lived for a year in Buenos Aires, Argentina while he was a part of the ELCA's Young Adult Global Mission program. But since then he has travelled all over South America, Africa, and Eastern Europe. Most of the time he connects with volunteer agencies.

The point of this post, however, is to let you know that there is a Lutheran World Federation Youth Blog. Occasionally Ray posts on it, but many others do too. It is where "Young adults from around the world write about youth ministry and events, about their life, faith and justice." As one who has no bias :) I hope you will drop by someday and read a little of the blog.

Changing A Little

2007-10-15T23:48:00.000-05:00

I am ashamed - ashamed because I haven't kept up posting on this blog. So, I've decided to change the "atmosphere" of Faith Outstretched a little and, instead of strictly talking about resources and ministry opportunities, I plan to make it a little more personal. Hopefully that will spur me on to keep up the posts! To anyone who continues to read this blog even though it has lapsed, thank you!

Two October Emphases

2007-09-05T07:31:00.000-05:00

On the homepage of the ELCA website I found two articles about possible emphases in October - one on Candle Lighting for Mental Illness and one on celebrating 60 years of the Lutheran World Federation. Both provide resources for congregations to use.

Jesus, Justice, Jazz

2007-07-31T14:04:00.000-05:00

It has only been a year since the last national youth gathering in San Antonio, TX, but preparations are already being made for the next one! It was announced that the ELCA National Youth Gathering in 2009 will be in New Orleans, LA from July 22-26. You can get more details about it at the ELCA Youth Website. It's never too late to start making preparations!

Churchwide Assembly

2007-07-27T15:45:00.000-05:00

Preparations are being made for the Churchwide Assembly August 6-11. Webcasts are scheduled throughout the event. Among other things, there will be a celebration of the 20th anniversary of the ELCA. Go to the ELCA Churchwide Assembly website for more news.

International Day of Prayer for Peace

2007-07-25T23:57:00.000-05:00

The World Council of Churches is urging its member churches to participate in the International Day of Prayer for Peace which is September 21, 2007. I immediately think of the war in Iraq when I think about praying for peace, but as a resident of a Baltimore suburb, I am also thinking about the escalating violence in our city.

The ELCA has a Litany prayer for peace and some other interesting ideas on how to acknowledge this day with children.

Live Earth!

2007-07-07T11:16:00.001-05:00

Today is Live Earth Day! You can watch the show or sign the pledge and many other things by visiting the web site.

The ELCA takes stewardship of the earth seriously and has a social statement on Caring for Creation.

On Earth Peace

2007-07-07T10:48:00.000-05:00

I live not far from The Brethren Center, which is not far from the Lutheran Seminary at Gettysburg. During one of my classes, we visited the Brethren Center. There are a lot of things going on in that complex. While there we heard a speaker from On Earth Peace. It is an agency of the Church of the Brethren and is dedicated to peace. They have people working all over the world for peace. If you want to sign up to receive their resources, click here.

100 Years of Campus Ministry

2007-06-30T08:40:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it's been a month since my last post - my apologies. In that time period I have attended the Delaware-Maryland Synod Assembly at which time we celebrated the 100th Anniversary of Campus Ministry. Campus ministry has been a blessing to my family through Pastor Beth Platz at the University of Maryland. If you have a student going off to college this year, look into campus ministry.

Peace Not Walls

2007-05-31T21:51:00.001-05:00

My son has been travelling since February and is currently in Jerusalem. I recently talked to him about the check points and the wall that has been built there by the Israelis.

The ELCA has called for a halt to the construction of the wall. You can read more about this situation at the website: Peace Not Walls. This is a sad situation.

New LWR Leader

2007-05-29T21:18:00.000-05:00

I just read that Lutheran World Relief has named a new president: Rev. John Arthur Nunes. You can read more about it in this news release.

Global Missions

2007-05-18T16:46:00.000-05:00

I attended one Global Mission Event - in August of 2005. It was a great event! My son had just finished a year of missionary work with Young Adults in Global Mission.

This year's event is being held July 19-22 at Ohio State University. If you have a chance to go, please do - you'll be surprised how much you will learn and you will meet lots of great, dedicated people.

World Fair Trade Day

2007-05-13T22:36:00.000-05:00

Today was World Fair Trade day. Lutheran World Relief (LWR) joined in the celebration which had the theme "Kids Need Fair Trade." Don't know about Fair Trade? LWR has good resources to explain it.

Global Action for Children

2007-05-02T18:20:00.000-05:00

Read the April 27th news release on the ELCA News Blog about Angelina Jolie, Global Action for Children and the ELCA. They are all coming together to advocate for orphans and vulnerable children.

American Idol

2007-04-26T07:41:00.001-05:00

Last night the t.v. show "American Idol" helped raise money to end extreme poverty and hunger in the United States and Africa. Bono, who is active in the ONE Campaign, was involved, including other celebrities. You can read more about it in this CNN article.

Earth Day

2007-04-15T12:48:00.000-05:00

Earth Day is next Sunday, April 22nd. Bishop Hanson of the ELCA has written an Earth Day Message. Did you know that the ELCA has a social statement about the environment called Caring for Creation: Vision, Hope and Justice? There are other resources relating to caring for creation also.

Where in the World is Ray?

2007-04-09T20:09:00.000-05:00

My son has been in Africa for the past two months and is planning on travelling until August 1st. His blog about his travels can be found at Where in the World is Ray? He has some interesting and thought-provoking things to say.

E-cards

2007-04-09T20:04:00.000-05:00

Would you like to send an e-card for a special occasion? You can, through ELCA Hunger or Disaster Response. Go to the e-card web site to choose one.

Alternative Spring Break

2007-03-23T17:01:00.000-05:00

Most college students are returning from their spring breaks this week. Some are returning from Lutheran Disaster Relief's Alternative Spring Break. They went to the Gulf Coast to continue to help rebuild.

To see a video clip of the 2006 trip go to this web page and scroll down to Video Clip - "What A Relief!" (it's along the right hand side of the page)

Ending the project, but not the blog

2007-03-19T19:09:00.000-05:00

My diaconal ministry project is coming to an end and I thank you for participating. I'm not ending the blog, however! I will continue to post regularly.

If you could help me out, please consider taking this survey. It's only 9 questions long.

Hunger-Related Worship Resources

2007-03-16T20:28:00.000-05:00

On one of the ELCA World Hunger web pages there are Lenten prayers and litanies revolving around hunger. Also on the page are links to more prayers for each of the church seasons.

Did you know that Earth Day this year is on Sunday, April 22nd? World Hunger has a bulletin insert (pdf file) for that day, too, explaining how your donations help them care for all of creation.

Grace Matters

2007-03-14T12:22:00.000-05:00

Grace Matters is a radio ministry of the ELCA. In the first week of March, Knute Ogren was interviewed because he recorded two CDs and is donating all the proceeds to World Hunger. You can listen to the broadcast on this website - scroll to March 4. It's another way that people use their gifts to serve others.

Spiritual Hunger

2007-03-12T12:28:00.000-05:00

Yesterday during communion at contemporary worship the band played a song called Hungry (Falling On My Knees) by Kathryn Scott. It ocurred to me that I've been talking a lot about physical hunger these past weeks, but not about spiritual hunger. I can't really say that I have experienced sustained physical hunger, but I have experienced spiritual hunger, just as many of you have, I suspect. It seemed appropriate that we were singing about spiritual hunger and then receiving communion.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has a web page titled Spiritual Center that has links to resources dealing with spirituality. I also found a youth helpsheet, Teenage Spirituality: Not an Oxymoron.

The Lenten season seems to be a natural time for us to think about spirituality.