Is There A Dog In the House?

This past week end I visited our seminarian, Ray Ranker (okay, he's my son also!), at Philadelphia Seminary. We had a great time, but Sunday morning was especially interesting. We visited Atonement Lutheran Church where Ray is going to be doing his field education in the fall. When we walked into the church, we were greeted by a dog! It was a wonderfully friendly dog, and being a "dog person," I loved it! During the passing of the peace, he came down the middle aisle. It seems one of the parishioners owns the dog (it is not a seeing eye dog) - and it is really a part of her family, so she brings it to church on Sundays. How great is that? He is, after all, one of God's creatures. Thank goodness no one at the church seems to be allergic to dogs :)

United Methodists Adopt Full Communion Proposal with ELCA

I went to look something up on the ELCA web site and came across a news release stating that, on April 28th, the United Methodist Church adopted the full communion proposal with the ELCA at their General Conference. Now the ELCA will have the chance to adopt it at its next general meeting August 17-23, 2009.

What does that mean? (from the article) It means "the churches will work for visible unity in Jesus Christ, recognize each other's ministries, work together on a variety of ministry initiatives, and, under certain circumstances, provide for the interchangeability of ordained clergy." Exciting times - and they've been working on this since 1977.

As a sidelight, the ELCA web site has been redone - be sure to drop by soon.

Do You Ebay?

I recently became aware of a fundraising program called Trading Graces. It is sponsored by Lutheran Services in America, a social ministry organization. Trading Graces is an online auction on Ebay that raises money for Lutheran health and human service organizations. Auctions are held regularly until June 2008. If you're interested, you can learn more at the LSA web site or go to the Ebay site.

Favorite Bible Verse

Several months ago some of us on staff were talking about our favorite Bible verses. Christine's son had to do a project for school about that. His favorite Bible verse was Romans 16:19-20:

"For while your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, I want you to be wise in what is good, and guileless in what is evil. The God of peace will shortly crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you."

Jimmy, our Youth Director said his favorite was Micah 6:8:

"He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?"

I have a couple of favorites. One is Matthew 28:20b:

"And remember, I [Jesus] am with you always, to the end of the age.'"

I have another one, though, which is the reason I am writing this blog entry today. We will be reading it this Sunday for the second lesson. It is Ephesians 5:8:

"For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light"

I like that verse because I think so often, even though we proclaim to be followers of Christ, our light, we live and act as though we are enveloped in darkness.

So, enough about us, what's your favorite Bible verse?

Youth Ministry: Mission Mexico 2008 Fundraisers

The youth participating in this year's mission trip have been raising funds on their own to help cover some of the trip's expenses. Some of our students in the past two months have already received almost half of the cost of the trip from individual sponsor donations. The effort now will be to raise money to support the entire group, not just themselves. Those students will be holding at least two fundraisers in the coming months to do just that.

Feb. 17th- Bakesale during the parish education hour
Mar. 8th- Date night babysitting 4pm-10pm
$25 for one child
$35 for two children
$45 for three or more

Our youth participate in at least 5 events ranging in cost from $100- $1000. If you would like to make a general donation to help cover some of the cost of this trip or any other events, please contact me at the church office, 410-833-1604 x204 or via email, jimYD@trinityreisterstown.org. All checks should be made out to Trinity Lutheran Church.

Your support, especially your prayers, are greatly appreciated and do not go unnoticed. Thank you.

in Him,
jimmy

What Is Diaconal Ministry?

This Sunday we will have our annual meeting (January 13th, dinner at 6pm, meeting following). On the agenda is a vote to call me for two years as a Diaconal Minister here at Trinity. The problem is that not many people know what Diaconal Ministry is!

Diaconal Ministry is a ministry of Word and Service, whereas ordained ministry is a ministry of Word and Sacrament. Diaconal Ministry has only been a part of the ELCA for a little over ten years. Each Diaconal Minister is charged with taking the church to the world while at the same time bringing the world to the church. We are to lift up the needs of the world to "the church."

Each Diaconal Minister has to have a specialization. Mine is church and technology. Some others might be campus ministry, youth ministry, christian education, chaplaincy, or social work. So, you often see Diaconal Ministers working not only in congregations, but also at other institutions (hospitals and nursing homes, for example).

It is exciting to be a part of this fairly new ministry! If you would like to read more about Diaconal Ministry, please go to the Diaconal Ministry home page on the ELCA web site.

The ELCA on TV

There will be a two-hour special called "In God's Name" on CBS on Sunday, December 23rd at 9pm(ET). The ELCA's Bishop Mark Hanson, who was named as one of the twelve "most influential religious leaders," will be a part of the program. To learn more about it, visit this ELCA website.