September 2011 Global Links

Drought in the Horn of Africa
Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya and other countries in East Africa are experiencing the worst drought in 60 years. The ELCA has committed $1.25 million for drought relief to support long-term rebuilding; more help is needed. See www.elca.org/disaster, http://blogs.elca.org/disasterresponse/ and also www.elca.org/news (click on News Releases in the left-hand column).

ELCA assembly officially launches the ELCA Malaria Campaign

Every 45 seconds a child dies from malaria, a preventable and treatable disease. Based on the decision made at the Churchwide Assembly, the ELCA will join with Lutheran churches in Africa, to work toward a malaria-free future. See www.elca.org/news (click on News Releases in the left-hand column).

Germany: Explore Luther's heritage in Wittenberg, Germany
The ELCA Wittenberg Center can assist you in exploring the many study and learning opportunities available in the heart of this historic city of Martin Luther and at other Reformation sites. See www.elca.org/wittenberg.

Senegal: Christian-Muslim relations
ELCA missionaries Peter Hanson and Sarah Grow reflect on life and ministry in an interfaith setting. Watch a short video at http://blogs.elca.org/handinhand.

The ELCA's best-kept secret: Young Adults in Global Mission
"We have been blessed this past year here in Jerusalem with six amazing, dedicated and talented Young Adults in Global Mission who have impacted our lives and the lives of the Palestinian church, while taking a giant step that means they will never see the world in the same way as before." Read more about the work of these young adults at http://blogs.elca.org/handinhand.

South Africa: "Ubuntu! I am because we are!"
"Being present here is so important. The electricity may be down. The water supply may be down. But, I am here with you." Read more reflections from two young adults at www.elca.org/handinhand.

Asia/Pacific: Regional representative for diakonia sought
Represent the ELCA in diakonia ministries (development, health care, disaster response). Preference will be given to applications received by September 15, 2011. Position starts January 2012. See www.elca.org/globalserve and click Global Service Opportunities to search the database at the bottom of the page.

Why missionaries?
After two months on home assignment, ELCA missionary Brian Konkol considers the role and purpose of Christian missionaries in a blog post at http://lwfyouth.org/.

Glocal Mission Gathering in Wichita, Kansas, September 31-October 1
Equip yourself for God's work in today's global and local realities. For more information and to register, visit www.elca.org/glocal.

Companion synod relationships: More profiles
Online profiles have been updated by the ELCA Alaska, Northwestern Ohio, Southeastern Iowa, and the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast Synods, and by the Synod of Alberta and the Territories of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. Learn of new developments in companion synod relationships at www.elca.org/companionsynodprofiles.

In our prayers
Pray for the new missionaries who are being deployed to many corners of the world this summer. Give thanks for their service to the church and their devotion to mission in God's world. (This prayer for August 30 is available along with daily prayers from around the globe at www.elca.org/prayerventures.)

Our goal is 300 boxes

During the month of September Christ the King is holding its annual boxed cereal drive for the Gallatin Valley Food Bank.

Last year we collected 275 boxes of cereal for hungry individuals and families living in the Gallatin Valley.

Let’s make it our goal to collect 300 boxes of cereal.

Take advantage of all the back to school sales at local grocery stores featuring boxed cereal.

Next week when I go grocery shopping for my family, I plan to pick up four boxes of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes. We’ll eat one at our house and the other three we plan to give to the cereal drive.

Together we can reach our goal of 300 boxes for the Gallatin Valley Food Bank.

Making History?

I've been exchanging emails with a mentor and friend this week, who also happens to be our predecessor here at CtK, the Rev. Shelley Wickstrom. Pastor Shelley now works on the ELCA's Region One staff. And she wears quite a few hats. She spent time in June at the Campus Ministry Conference, part of July at the Women of the ELCA's Triennial Convention, and part of August in Orlando for the Churchwide Assembly (CWA). Here's what she had to say about the Assembly:

During CWA I was impressed by the endorsements given to the Genetics Statement. One genetics counselor gave a workshop on it to a national conference of genetics counselors who were amazed at its depth and breadth. That kind of peer review matters. There were also farmers who spoke in favor of it, plus geneticists. Participation in the Malaria Campaign will be one of those experiences that hopefully we'll be able to say to Marit some day that once upon a time there was a disease that killed a child every 45 seconds. Your church stopped that (with the help of philanthropists, other denominations, etc....)

I hope she's right - that Malaria will be history someday. And that we will know we have played a small part in making it so.

Not sure what all Pastor Shelley's talking about? Learn more about the Social Statement on Genetics, the ELCA Malaria Campaign, the Women of the ELCA, and Lutheran Campus Ministry!
See you in worship - don't forget to bring your school bag this Sunday!

Your offering at work

Earlier this week we learned in the church office of a young person who out of the kindness of her heart, took in an elderly person who had no immediate family.

The elderly friend has now become ill and is in need of life saving surgery.
The kind young person wants to accompany her friend to the city where the surgery will take place.

Using resources here in Bozeman and elsewhere in the state of Montana, we were able to secure lodging for the kind young person, so she could support her new elderly friend as this person prepares to undergo surgery.

None of this could have happened without your generous weekly offerings.
A portion of the monthly offering (less than one percent) is set aside in our “Good Samaritan Fund.”

Members and friends of Christ the King have benefitted from this fund to help people in need. And total strangers, too! Bags of groceries, tanks of gas, a month’s rent, a late electric bill, and emergency shelter have all been made available through the Good Samaritan Fund.

A colleague who helped coordinate the assistance said, “Last week both these persons were feeling like their faith was being tested. Your assistance will help to remind them that there are caring people in Montana who are willing to lend a hand, and to help restore someone’s shattered faith.”

This is your Christ the King offering at work, bearing witness to the hope we have in Christ Jesus.

Blessing of the Backpacks this Sunday, 9am

The Belgrade School District began classes for the 2011-2012 school year today. Bozeman Schools and MSU launch the fall term on Monday. Are you ready? I, for one, am not feeling particularly ready for summer to be over. That said, the fall is always an exciting time to begin new learning challenges, catch up with folks who traveled a lot over the summer, and recognize with awe and amazement how quickly some of those students are growing!
This Sunday, August 28th, during worship at 9am, backpacks and school bags - and most importantly students, teachers, and other school-types - will be blessed. So, if you're heading back to the classroom, bring your own school bag with you to worship for the blessing!

Reflection on today's sermon

The Gospel lesson for the 10th Sunday after Pentecost is Matthew 16:13-20.
Have you been thinking at all about how you would answer Jesus' question, "Who do you say that I am?"
Or about what you might say if someone asked, "What is it you believe?"
What follows is one of the songs we sang quite a bit at Flathead Lutheran Bible Camp during the week CtK types were there back in July. And if we'd had music for it (instead of just the guitar chords) perhaps I would have chosen it for one of our songs in worship today. Perhaps the lyrics can serve as a prayer for you this week, and help you think about who Jesus is in your life.

You are holy.
You are mighty.
You are worthy,
worthy of praise.
I will follow. 
I will listen.
I will love you
all of my days.

I will sing to and worship the King who is worthy.
I will love and adore him. I will bow down before him.
You’re my Prince of Peace and I will live my life for you.

You’re the Lord of lords, You’re the King of Kings, you are mighty God, Lord of everything.
You’re Emmanuel. You’re the Great I Am. You’re the Prince of Peace who is the lamb.

You’re the living God, You’re my saving grace, You will reign forever. You are Ancient of Days.
You are Alpha, Omega, beginning and end. You’re my Savior, Messiah, Redeemer and friend.
You're my Prince of Peace and I will live my life for you.

Car Wash Tomorrow

Hope to see you tomorrow at the Car Wash! Help our youth start raising funds for this year's retreats, learning and service opportunities! (not to mention the summer 2012 big high school event!)

ELCA Churchwide Assembly

This post is from the Bishop of the Montana Synod, Jessica Crist. It comes from the August issue of the Montana Synod Newsletter.

When you read this article, the Churchwide Assembly will be in session in Orlando, Florida. Twelve voting members, elected at the 2010 Montana Synod Assembly, will join approximately 1000 other voting members from around the Church to do the business of the Church. These volunteers are giving up a week of their summer to vote on resolutions and budgets, constitutional changes and a social statement. Please keep them in your prayers, and thank them if you get a chance. And feel free to invite them to your congregation and your fall cluster meetings, in order to hear from them directly.
If you are reading this, pass it on. Pass on the newsletter, pass on the article, pass on the information about accessing the Churchwide Assembly. Here is our group: Pastor Carol Karres is a retired pastor living in Sidney and serving on the Synod’s Candidacy Committee. Jim Allen of Great Falls, is about to start his freshman year at Concordia College, Mike Young, newly-elected Synod Vice President, is a Billings-based health care consultant. Pastor Dan Heskett serves Northridge in Kalispell, and is Dean of the Flathead Clus-ter. Sandy Lange of Choteau, is on the Churchwide Board of the Women of the ELCA. Wayne Saverud, of Kalispell, works for Immanuel Lutheran Corporation. Trudi Schmidt is a State Legislator from Great Falls, and a member of the Synodically Authorized Worshipping Community, New Hope. Tonia Fisher-Clark, is an LPA and a member of King of Glory in Billings. Lee Christianson is an active member of First Lutheran in Havre, and works for Thrivent. Pastor Tim Tostengard serves American Lutheran in Billings, and is Dean of the Shepherd Cluster. Amanda Gerber is a college student from Libby. As Bishop, I am the twelfth member of the group. And Pastor Phil Wold, of Sheridan, Wyoming, will be there as a member of the ELCA Church Council.
You can keep track of what is going on at the Churchwide Assembly several ways. One way is to watch the streaming video feed at http://www.elca.org/. You can watch in live time the presentations, debates, bible studies and more. Another way is to follow the blog that our synod group will have. Go to http://www.soulcafe.org/, sign up, and go to the Montana Synod page, where you will find a link to our blog. Soul Café is an experiment in communications we are engaged in in the synods of Region I (the Northwest). It is a great way to get information and make connections not only across the syn-od, but across all our synods in the northwest. Check it out.
So what will we do for five days at the Assembly? We’ll have daily worship and prayer. We’ll study scrip-ture. We’ll listen to presentations from staff, from volunteers, from visiting dignitaries. We’ll grapple together with the theme: “Freed in Christ to Serve.” We’ll look at the report of the LIFT Task Force, prayerfully consider what kinds of structure and governance will help us be effective witnesses to the Gospel of Jesus Christ in our complex world today and in the future. We’ll debate and vote on the genetics social statement, and discuss why we as a church have social statements. We’ll adopt a budget, look at constitutional changes, hear memorials from synods, elect people to churchwide boards.
The Churchwide Assembly is people like you and me, clergy and laity from across the country, elected by their Synod Assemblies from congregations across the whole church. We are as diverse in our backgrounds and opinions and experiences as this whole church is.
But we are united in our love of the Church, the Body of Christ. We are united in our commitment to be faithful witnesses to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are united in our desire to serve God and neighbor.

God’s work. Our hands.

Your partner in ministry,

Bishop Jessica Crist

I encourage you to check out the ELCA webpage and watch some of the Assembly. You can see streaming video here. It's always interesting, and a good way to stay connected with what our church is doing - "church" is a whole lot bigger than just an individual congregation!

Hungry people are fed

O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures for ever.
Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,
those he redeemed from trouble
and gathered in from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.

Some wandered in desert wastes,
finding no way to an inhabited town;
hungry and thirsty,
their soul fainted within them.
Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress;
he led them by a straight way,
until they reached an inhabited town.
Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.
For he satisfies the thirsty,
and the hungry he fills with good things.
Psalm 107:1-9

Ron Hanson, our master gardener here at Christ the King informed me this morning that he had harvested giant peas and string beans for the Gallatin Valley Food Bank.
If you are interested in helping Ron with the garden, please contact him. I know he would appreciate the help, especially now that produce is ready for harvest.
Praise the Lord! For he satisfies the thirsty, and the hungry he fills with good things.

Yup.

One of my favorite things about being a pastor is getting to know people and hear their stories - where they come from, how they got to where they are now, the important people in their lives, how God shows up and surprises them, how God uses them in the world, the questions they have, etc.
Today I was blessed by conversation with a woman new to CtK, over a very tasty lunch. She is, like all of God's children, quite fascinating and fabulous. And she said something that made me ask her, "Can I quote you on that?"
When I asked her about connecting with a community of faith in the midst of a very full life (demanding full time job, children, husband, etc.), she said, "I'm too busy not to make this a priority."
Yup.
Sometimes people think they'll be able to make it to worship when they're not so busy. I'm not sure that's ever really true. I have a feeling it wouldn't be true for me - even if I wasn't a pastor. Participating in weekly worship and connecting with the community of faith help make the rest of my life possible. Like all the legends of famous reformers and "churchmen" tell us - they were so busy and so involved in so much, they had to spend hours (three, four, more?) in prayer every day. It was the only way they could accomplish what needed to get done.
There are lots of ways to think about sabbath. One of my favorites has been the switch to thinking about Sunday not only as the day of rest at the end of the week, but as a day of rest, worship and praise at the BEGINNING of the week - fuel and a jumping off point for all that's ahead. And life is definitely too busy not to make that a priority.

VBS Concludes - Pancake Buffet

Another week of VBS is over - what a week! Almost 40 children participated, and we had a bunch of wonderful adult, high school and middle school leaders and helpers! With a DIO (do it ourselves) curriculum, the talents, gifts and creativity of our leaders really shone through. Thanks to all of you who put in lots of thinking time, preparation time and especially lots of love into the children!

The big VBS finale will be on Sunday - children will sing during worship, and afterwards, there will be a pancake buffet! Pancakes (including gluten-free pancakes) will be provided, and beverages will be provided, too. It's your job to bring your favorite topping! Blackberry syrup, fresh bananas, chocolate chips... how creative can you get? Bring your friends and neighbors, it's going to be fun! And TASTY!

A GREAT week of VBS!

It's Wednesday - which means VBS is already more than half way over. Where do the days go?
We're having a great week, thanks to so many wonderful adult and teen leaders and helpers, and all the children who are here to learn, praise, pray, create and have fun!
Check out the CtK website for the daily VBS "newsletters."
And enjoy some pictures of the week so far! (The donkeys came for "duct tape the tail on the donkey" on Wednesday, when we talked about Palm Sunday and Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. Cool, huh?)