Fresh is best through the growing season

Fresh tomatoes, berries, and squash. Homemade preserves. Those and other fresh organic delights are available in Immanuel’s east parking lot in the 1600 block of Westport Road every Wednesday.

Vendors from the Westport/Plaza Farmers’ Market set up shop from 4:30-7:30 p.m. every Wednesday through the growing season.

“Our vendors are small farmers who care about the food they grow and the land they grow it on,” says David Bennett, one of the market’s coordinators.

Linda Fewell, Immanuel’s representative to the Volker Neighborhood Association, says the farmers’ market had used a parking lot on 39^th Street in previous years, but that space no longer is available.

“During the March neighborhood association meeting, I heard how much Volker residents wanted to find a new space for the market and how disappointed they would be if it were forced to move to another neighborhood,” Linda says. “Using our extra parking lot on Wednesday evenings seemed a perfect solution that keeps a beloved service in the neighborhood.”

News from Immanuel's Worship and Arts committee

• Liturgy, psalmody changes: Immanuel will continue to use the Marty Haugen liturgy until Sunday, Aug. 15, when the liturgy will shift to setting 1 in Evangelical Lutheran Worship. Alternative approaches to the psalmody during the 8:15 service also continue in August. Options include singing the psalm antiphonally between men and women or pulpit /organ sides of the congregation, or speaking the psalm.
• Learning opportunities: The Worship and Arts committee and members of Altar Guild will team up to lead adult forums on Sunday, Oct. 10 and Sunday, March 20. The October presentation will focus on the lesser festival Sundays throughout the church year, and the March session will examine the liturgical actions of ordinary time.
• Mark your calendar: Immanuel organist Ted Stewart has announced the Bach Cantata dates for 2010-2011: Oct. 24, Dec. 12, March 6, and April 10.
• Looking ahead: The Worship and Arts committee has set these goals for 2010: broaden the repertoire of worship styles; continue to serve as a liaison among worship leaders, committees and church staff; offer updates on the liturgical year; develop a worship activity with the Oromo community

(Men's) Breakfast, anyone?

Like breakfast? Enjoy speakers? Want to get to know the other men at Immanuel a little better?

Then you’re an ideal candidate to kick-start a monthly men’s breakfast at Immanuel.

The tentative plan is a once-a-month Saturday gathering at 7 a.m. for breakfast, a 30-minute program and fellowship. Participants would be on their way by 8:15 a.m.

If you’re interested, attend a planning meeting at 9:15 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 15, in the office conference room.

If five men show up who are willing to do the heavy lifting of planning, the program will proceed.

Carolyn Wilson is convening the meeting, but will not participate in the breakfasts. Call her for more information at 816-931-8483.

A message from Pastor Jennifer Thomas: Of prayer and hope, our daily bread

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

A visitor at worship on July 25 told me why she was glad she came: the words on prayer were timely as she struggles with her mother’s illness. The worship liturgy, the hymns, the scriptures, and the community of faith renewed her hope.

So, because I desire to renew your hope, I am including here excerpts from the July 25 sermon.

Jesus teaching his disciples to pray reminds us of our need to feast on the bread of heaven – Jesus gives us the words and encourages us in our persistence.

The Gospel of Luke tells the stories of three different widows speaking or praying for mercy and grace, stories that connect well to Jesus’ words on prayer. Prayer, persistence and generosity exemplify the faithfulness of these women.

We know well the story of the widow whose persistent pleas for mercy softened a corrupt judge’s heart -- not because they were so beautifully chosen, but because she wore him out with her constant requests.

And we know Anna -- a woman of great age who stayed at the temple, praying and fasting, day and night. Her encounter with the infant savior prompted beautiful words of praise.

And then finally, we remember the widow in the temple whose two copper coins given from poverty drew Jesus’ praise.

A few weeks ago, a man who appeared to be poor, maybe even homeless, came to Immanuel’s door and asked to pray in the sanctuary. He stayed for 30 minutes, his head bowed.

On his way out the door, he poked his head in the office, and told Tim, “I left what I could for the church.” He left two quarters, two dimes, two nickels and nine pennies inside a pew envelope. It’s as beautiful as any gift the church has ever received, because it was given with a generous heart from a person in need.

In the movie “The Shawshank Redemption,” Andy Dufrense writes a letter to his friend, Red, to come and find him across the border in Mexico.

Earlier in the movie, Red has said, “Hope? Hope is a dangerous thing!”

But now he reads his friend’s words and his eyes are clear, his heart is full, and he is ready for the next chapter of his life.

Here’s what Andy wrote to him: “Hope is a beautiful thing. Remember that hope is a good thing, Red, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.”

The Lord’s prayer itself is our daily bread, for we cannot live by bread alone but by the words of God. Hope is our daily bread.

When we pray the Lord’s prayer together as a community, our voices join the heavenly host and all creation as the church around the world prays in a multitude of languages.

Through my time here at Immanuel, I have heard stories of members feeding the hungry. And I’ve heard stories of the hungry being fed. The stories I’ve heard include Wally’s story about feeding the German soldiers who held him and his buddy captive, because they knew where a storehouse of potatoes was hidden. And the grace that came in feeding captors – because they lived rather than died at the hands of those men.

When we begin and end our days in prayer, asking that God’s will be done on earth, asking for our daily bread, we are open to whatever God’s will for our lives is that day. A reminder to live fully in the present, not to worry about yesterday or tomorrow, but to embrace God’s richest blessings for us today!

This is our hope!

Volunteers needed for Sunday school

Immanuel's Sunday school classes will resume on Sunday, Sept. 12, with Rally Day activities.

Immanuel will have seven classes, which means we need at least 14 teachers.

Several of our long-time teachers are taking a break so we need to replace them, which will be difficult.

Please consider volunteering to co-teach or to teach for half a year.

Teaching for the entire year involves 30 hours of teaching and 15 to 30 hours of preparation.

Or if you choose to teach either fall or spring semester, your time commitment would only be 20 to 30 hours.

Immanuel uses the Spark curriculum, which ties the Sunday school lesson to the Scripture lessons in church. Preparing for class also gets you ready to hear the Word in worship. And, the lessons are filled with fun and rewarding activities for our students.

A Sunday school staff meeting is planned for 9:15 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 15, in the Gathering Space at Immanuel.

Please consider giving of your time, talent and energy to the youth of Immanuel. You will be rewarded greatly!

Contact the church office at 816-931-8483 for more information.

A summer message from Immanuel's sponsored missionaries

Grace and peace to you, congregations and individuals who so generously sponsor our ministry in Papua New Guinea,

Today is not a national holiday but it is a Lutheran holiday. On July 12, 1886, the first missionaries came to Papua New Guinea, landing at Simbang in the coastal area of Finschhafen. Therefore it seems appropriate to reflect a bit on the 124-year history that we are now part of.

As I sit and look out our window at lush foliage through rain, it’s hard to imagine the arrival of missionaries here, not knowing the language or the peoples they would encounter, arriving in the rainy season, having to build homes out of bush material, and beginning ministry.

I cannot help but feel that those early missionaries were in a league all their own. In fact, disease wiped out almost all of the first missionaries but they did not abandon the call. They moved higher up into the mountains and began to train evangelists.

Now, 124 years later, ministry continues. In some ways, it is the same, since we continue to have evangelist training in one location near Madang, in two church colleges and three seminaries.

In other ways, it is very different as we now have a national church office, constitutions, long-range plans and all the trappings of modern business.

The one constant, however, is that it is the gospel, the Good News, that continues to be the centerpiece of life and ministry. Many times we hear that it is truly the gospel that has brought the country together.

There are no major celebrations here at Ampo today. For the past two weeks, the Founding Day has been a topic of sermons and conversation here on Ampo (check our blog for some of the themes), and we will have lotu (worship) this evening.

General Secretary Albert Tokave travelled to Simbang for a commemorative event, but many people are gone. We are in the midst of a two-week school break so many people are traveling. Bishop Wenge and four others leave later this week for Stuttgart, Germany, to attend the Lutheran World Federation Assembly where Bishop Mark Hanson will preside.

All of this is a reminder to us of the breadth of our global Church and how connected we really are. You, too, are part of our ministry in Papua New Guinea, just as we are part of yours. Our ministries transcend time and place!

June has been a time of transitions here at ELC-PNG. There have been a lot of “handover/takeovers.” This is the term that is used which is somewhat awkward but actually quite descriptive. At the end of the June Church Council meeting, we gathered outside the Main Building on a lovely tropical evening for worship, recognitions, and a big meal.

Four of the 17 District Presidents finished their terms with this council meeting and each was given a certificate of appreciation. The official handover/takeover of the General Secretary also took place. Isaac Teo, the outgoing Secretary, had provided assistance to the new Secretary, Albert Tokave during the past three months and this was Isaac’s last council meeting.

Isaac Teo is from the district of Siassi. The festivities began at his house when members of his clan performed a singsing, the traditional dance and music of his birthplace. There were speeches, gifts, and more speeches. Albert Tokave took the opportunity to not only thank his predecessor but to share some of his vision for the future.

Departing missionaries were also recognized. Klaus and Robyn Neumeier finished their five-year term on June 22. Klaus has been an advisor to Lutheran Development Service’s agricultural project. He and Robyn have been an integral part of the community.

Miriam Lies, a young German woman, was also recognized. She leaves July 14. Her replacement arrives in late July.

It reminds us that the church is always changing, just as the community is always changing, yet some things remain the same---daily routines, weekly Chapel, the general ebb and flow of life.

Perhaps one of the most touching recognitions of the evening was the retirement of Koi, longtime driver for the Bishop. Koi began driving for dignataries in 1966. He is a humble, unassuming man with a perpetual smile on his face. When he came forth to receive his gift and certificate, the clapping and chanting grew to a loud crescendo. In a patriarchal culture that reveres the het man (head man), it was nice to see the recognition of “the least of these.”

We are now in the rainy season and it is a bit difficult for us Midwesterners to become accustomed to days and days of rain. I have come to learn that the rain does subside eventually, and we get a few days of sun between downpours. I am finding new meaning in the phrase “when it rains, it pours.”

Rod has been busy doing audits. He recently travelled with his counterpart, Gavin, to Port Moresby to do an audit of the Lutheran Transit House. The Lutheran Church owns four transit/guest houses—one each in Port Moresby, Lae, Madang and Goroka. They are hostel-like accommodations and their purpose is to provide inexpensive housing to pastors and church workers whose work takes them around the country.

Port Moresby is growing rapidly because of the gas exploration and mining in the Highlands and it has become a bigger operation. Similarly, Goroka and Madang have become tourist destinations and are experiencing more activity.

All of this has heightened the discussion of these guest houses as money-making enterprises or as a service to the Church. It also points out the paradox you find in developing countries, where modern technology and enterprise reside side-by-side with village life that is reminiscent of what the first missionaries encountered 124 years ago. These tensions are part of what the Church faces as it looks to the future.

Know that we are well, that we enter each day with hearts of gratitude for your support of us and that we will try to stay in touch as much as possible. Blessings to you in all of your ministries.

Nancy Anderson and Pastor Rod Nordby e

Where does the money go?

Editor’s note: Immanuel’s stewardship committee is presenting a series of articles highlighting one segment of the congregation’s budgeted ministries each month. So far, the series has examined parish administration, facility costs and our ministry at a distance.

* * *

This month our focus is on our ministry to our community, approximately 10 percent of our current annual budget.

This portion of our budget includes support for Cross Lines, Hollis Renewal Center, Inner City Missions, Community LINC, Metro Lutheran Ministry, the Oromo speaking congregation, Budget and Financial Management Assistance, Westport Cooperative Services, Back-to-School, CCO and our emergency needs funds.

Also remember that we provide our facility to MLM for their Christmas Store, and that the Youth Works volunteers and staff that occupy our spaces this summer provide approximately 560 volunteer hours per week to various not-for-profit agencies during their stay with us.

For our illustrations here, we have also included a portion of Pastor Jennifer Thomas’s and Carolyn Wilson’s salaries and benefits in this ministry segment.

Let's go to a ballgame!

Whether you love baseball or not, you’re sure to be entertained by the Kansas City T-Bones, our local independent baseball team.

Members of Immanuel will be journeying out to Community America Ballpark in Kansas City, Kan., to see the T-Bones take on the Rockford RiverHawks on Saturday, Aug. 14. Tailgating starts at 5 p.m., with the first pitch at 7:05 p.m.

It’s Salute to Heroes Night at the T-Bones, with police, fire, ambulance and military equipment on display and a special pre-game ceremony. Plus, there’s a back-to-school giveaway for the first 5,000 through the gate, and post-game fireworks.

Tickets are $11 per person and can be purchased at church, or reserved by calling the church office at 816-931-8483. Parking is free at the ballpark.

Hot dogs and paper goods will be supplied for the tailgate party; bring a side dish to share, lawn chairs and beverages.

Are we there yet? Immanuel embarks on a visioning process

"Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?" John 14:1-5

Two minutes into summer vacation driving west on Interstate 70 the questions begin: When will we get there? Are we lost? Do we have enough gas? Can we stop for ice cream? Dad tried to comfort us with visions of mountains: "They're out there," he would say pointing the way ahead. "Can you see Pike's Peak?"

It was hard to see Pike's Peak from Salina. The Dairy Queen at Exit 152 was so much more … real.

It was hard for the disciples to see what was next in-between Passover and the crucifixion - even though Jesus was still with them saying: "You know the way." They needed a glimpse of where they were headed; they wanted reassurance and a Rand McNally Road Atlas. Thomas said it out loud: "Lord, if we don't know where you're going, even a GPS won't help us get there."

It helps to have a vision: a picture of God's preferred future for us. That's why Immanuel's newly formed Vision for Ministry Task Force is proposing that Immanuel engage in an intentional visioning process beginning this fall. The purpose is to spend some time together to see where we are, remember whose we are, and renew our vision of who God is calling Immanuel Lutheran Church to be.

There are three reasons for proposing a visioning process.

1. It's time. Immanuel's Long Range Plan was developed in 1998. It identified eight ministry areas and goals to achieve God's vision for Immanuel. That was 12 years ago. In 2003, a review of the plan reaffirmed some of our ministry areas, and called out new areas for consideration - that was 7 years ago. Four years ago in preparation for calling a new pastor, the Council reviewed the Revised Long Range Plan. Some of the goals were out of date because of the passage of time. But many had been achieved; we had traveled together as far as those goals could take us.
2. We're a different group of people. Of course we're different than we were 12 years ago. The congregation has changed. Some of our faithful members have died, and some have been led to join and serve other congregations. But even those of us who are still here have changed. All of us have grown in the past 12 years - and growth means we bring different gifts, fresh insights and newly developed skills for ministry. That's good news! It means our discipleship and education programs are working. So, even if we are the "same people," we are different people because of the passage of time.
3. Renewal is what we pray for every time we worship. Through Word and Sacrament we pray: "Renew our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." That's what the visioning process is about - renewal. Rediscovering who God is calling us to be now - individually and collectively as a community of faith - and then embodying that identity in the choices we make and the actions we take.

"How does what we're doing, reflect who we are?"

"How does who we are, shape what we do?"

The vision process will help us ask and answer these questions.

• It will build on our roots - first in Christ and on our calling to be a worshipping community.
• It will build on our identity and our Lutheran tradition as we ask: "What does it mean to be the Body of Christ?"
• It will build on the legacy of those who have gone before us at Immanuel as we realize the promise God has - not just for us - but for the world through us because we are the Body of Christ in this place and time - now!

Prepare to join us on the journey of discovering God's vision for Immanuel. Watch for more information as we kick-off the visioning process this fall. Everyone is welcome; everyone carries a piece of the picture.

We're not there yet. But, "you know the way."

Members of the Vision for Ministry Task Force are: Don Arney, Sally Baehni Dorcas Doering, Mike Fee, Kevin Fewell, Jim Martin, Pastor Jennifer Thomas, Ramelle Timm, and Carolyn Wilson.

Haiti, Six Months Later: An Update from Lutheran World Relief

Editor’s note: Immanuel’s Lydia Circle has been collecting items for health kits for Lutheran World Relief this summer, with the goal of sending 50 kits to help Lutheran World Relief efforts in Haiti. They’d like to double that number, if they could.

You can help by gathering items for the health kits (find a list of what’s needed here) and placing them in the display case outside the office at Immanuel.

Baltimore, July 12, 2010 — Six months after Haiti’s devastating 7.0 earthquake, Lutheran World Relief (LWR) remains hard at work assisting those who are still dealing with its aftermath and will be for years to come.

LWR, with a 14-year history in Haiti, is focusing the majority of its efforts on underserved rural populations. Many rural communities found themselves hosting an influx of people who fled the capital city of Port-au-Prince after the quake, putting a severe strain on already limited resources.

“It’s a tenuous situation,” said Alex Wilson, LWR’s deputy regional director for Latin America, who visited Haiti in June. “Lots of families left the city initially, but then went back in search of shelter, work and educational opportunities. However, the situation in Port-au-Prince remains critical, and many have now returned to their communities of origin a second time.”

LWR is working with local partners to support rural communities through cash-for-work programs to build soil and water conservation structures, distribution of additional seeds in preparation for the rainy season and training on agricultural production, to ensure that people have some income and that farmers are able to grow sufficient food to feed everyone. In addition, LWR is supporting the construction of latrines and low-cost water filter systems to accommodate the additional populations that have fled to rural areas.

“We lost one child during the earthquake in Port-au-Prince, and we didn’t even have time for a funeral,” said Monique Orestil, a participant in LWR’s program in Maissade, a rural community located about a four hour drive north of Port-au-Prince. “I brought my remaining five children here, and LWR helped me participate in a cash-for-work program. It was like God landing in Maissade. I left Port-au-Prince without anything, but now I can work for my family.”

As a member of the global aid consortium ACT Alliance, LWR has also supported life-saving measures in and around Port-au-Prince, since the days immediately after the earthquake. ACT Alliance members have provided food, water and sanitation, shelter and other services to more than 341,000 people.

“We are in a transition period now, moving from immediate relief efforts into the rehabilitation phase so that rural families can re-establish their livelihoods,” Wilson said. LWR, taking a long-term approach to rehabilitation and recovery, plans to work with earthquake-affected communities for five years.

“This was a devastating crisis,” Wilson added. “Recovery will take a long time.”

On the domestic side, LWR has mobilized its supporters to advocate to the U.S. government for cancellation of Haiti’s debt, and for emergency funding to support reconstruction programs. As a result of advocacy efforts by many organizations and individuals, in February the Obama Administration announced support for canceling Haiti’s nearly $1 billion debt and in April, President Obama signed the Debt Relief for Earthquake Recovery Act into law. Earlier this month, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a supplemental funding bill that includes crucial funds for reconstruction and agriculture efforts in the country. LWR continues working to ensure that policy-makers hear the voices and understand the needs of Haitian civil society.

Also in the U.S., LWR has partnered with Nebraska Lutheran Outdoor Ministries (NLOM) in an unprecedented effort to have summer camp participants work to assemble 32,000 LWR health kits – enough for an entire shipping container – to be sent to those in need in Haiti.

“I’m delighted that LWR sought us out with the idea,” said Dave Coker, executive director of NLOM. “And I’m excited for the kids who will come to camp this summer. The health kit service project will help them connect to their faith in powerful ways.”

Christmas in July: Week one

Immanuel is celebrating Christmas in July by gathering gifts for the Metro Lutheran Ministry Christmas store. The store, which is hosted at Immanuel in December, provides gifts and food for needy families served by MLM.

Last year, more than 1,000 households shopped at the store.

Gifts for women and teens are almost always in short supply, so Immanuel's summer gift drive targets those items.

Getting involved is as easy as 1-2-3:

1 - Stop by the Christmas tree in the Spong Common Room at Immanuel and pick up an ornament that lists a gift item. Pick up more than one if you're feeling generous.

2 - Go to your favorite store and purchase the item.

3 - Bring it to Immanuel and place it under the tree.

We'd like to see the entire side of the room overflowing with gifts. If you'd like to know more about the Christmas in July gift drive, or about Immanuel, call the church office at 816-931-8483.