Youth Matters

June has already been a busy month for children and youth doing what matters. When I was called to the east coast a year and a half ago, the thrust of my ministry was to be around youth and outreach. Last Thursday, my 1st grade daughter did a walk with her elementary school to cure childhood diabetes and raised $771 of the nearly $15,000 they collected! 215 of the 350 students participated on behalf of the four kids who are struggling with the disease.

At the New England Synod Assembly, dozens of youth came to Springfield to serve. We packaged 8,562 Feeding Children International meals for the Springfield food shelf after the devastating tornado on Wednesday. Youth from all over our synod had their first crack at packaging at Calumet in early March and will be doing it again at Hammo this fall (Sept 9th-11th). To date, 64,404 meals have been delivered to Haiti and MA area food shelves. Pastor Andrew's church in RI (who also posts to this blog) now has a packaging cell of their own. We'd like to have one in every state before Hammo.

Our synod's new purpose statement is telling. We are told to "go where love leads, serve where love calls". Children and youth are listening to the Spirit. Are you?

Pastor Matthew Martin

“Hugging a Stranger, Doing What Matters”

Throughout the “Doing What Matters” process we have been discussing ways of doing and being the church.  What makes this process unique is that we are starting with the people!!  You.  Me.  The person next to you. The one you stood behind in line at the coffee shop the other day. The one you are going to have lunch with tomorrow.

Speaking of people!  I love People!  No, not just the magazine that I do read cover to cover each week.  I love being with people.  Talking to people.   Hanging out with people.  Meeting new people.  But what I really enjoy most is watching people.  Do you like to watch people, too? 

One of my favorite people-watching places is the airport.  In December, my husband Steve and I were heading to Florida, and when I had finished getting redressed after security I sat and began my watching.  There was the family with three teens!  I saw the couple travelling with a small dog!  The mom of a young toddler was there, apologizing  to us for her daughter’s behavior before we even boarded the plane.   And yes, as luck would have it, the toddler sat across from Steve and I and never slept!! 

Part of the fascination of living in a small state is that I knew that most of these people would probably be with us on our return flight.  Sure enough, when we returned to the airport at the end of the week, there was my family with the teens, the dog people, and to my joy no toddler!  As I continued my observation of people watching I noticed a lady across from me.   Very put together.  Older than me.  Strong posture.  Very confident in her chair.  She gave off a vibe that said: “Don’t mess with me”.  I sat, and continued watching people, after hearing that our flight was now delayed 2 hours.  This upsets the teens and my husband.  The dog had his drugs so he did not care. 

As I took it all in, I couldn’t help but notice when the lady across from me- with the “Don’t mess with me” attitude-took a phone call and suddenly began weeping.  I mean sobbing.  Now, even the non-people watchers are now watching.  I feel something inside me telling me to-GET UP AND GO TO HER.  NOW!   I knew what I needed to do, but I was scared and very nervous approaching this strong woman who was not very strong at that moment.  I got up and went to her and hugged her.  She didn’t speak.  But she let me hold her.  Then she whispered to me: “My mom just died.”  I continued to hold her.  She told me that she laid beside her mom for the last two weeks at a hospice facility.  She felt happy that she was able to be with her mom during the last days of her life.  Even though she was prepared for the phone call, she could not hold in her grief.  She thanked me and I kept my eye on her until we boarded.

I am telling you this story because doing what matters can be scary.  Following Jesus is not always easy. Listen to what God has to say. Leave your fears and hesitations behind.  Sometimes, all He expects of you is that you get up, and walk across the room to hug a complete stranger at an airport. 

If we all start doing what matters, it will matter.

Sheri Dumas is a student of the New England Synod’s Lay School of ministry and a member of St. James Lutheran Church in Barrington, RI

"God's Work, Our Hands"

My name is Sue Grassey, and I am a member of Faith Lutheran, in Quincy, Massachusetts. I have just returned from an invigorating weekend at Camp Calumet in beautiful Ossipee, New Hampshire.  For the past three years, we have been attending the annual Youth Group gathering, which takes place during the first weekend in March at Camp Calumet. It is a time for Youth Groups from all over the NE Synod to come together and participate in a program run by counselors from Calumet. Our youth really look forward to this weekend, as many attend summer camp, and some are even counselors themselves. As leaders, we enjoy seeing friends that we have made over the years, as well as spending quality time with our own youth and teens from other groups.

The theme for this weekend was “God’s Work, Our Hands.” This was one of the best programs that we have attended at Calumet. We spent the weekend talking about how youth can make a difference in their world. So many of the kids are involved in some very special programs, and they have a passion for mission work.  Many of them have gone on mission trips, been involved in the 30-hour Famine, worked at local soup kitchens, and the list goes on. These kids are doing God’s work with their hands!

Our youth have recently developed a passion for mission also. A year ago, our church called a new pastor. Pastor Matthew came from Minnesota with a background in Youth Ministry. Our kids were instantly in love with him. His enthusiasm, passion for mission, and abundant energy touched something in them that many of our kids had been missing.

Pastor Matthew has a passion for feeding starving children, and has been doing this work for multiple years. He had been working with an organization called Feeding Children International, which feeds hungry children around the world with help from volunteers. The program involves assembling packages of food, each of which holds enough to feed a family of six. The process is performed in “assembly-line” style, and involves six to eight people. Our youth packaged over 40,000 meals last summer, and developed a passion for this work. Each time we planned on packaging meals, the turnout was overwhelming. The kids were so excited, and each time they put the meals together, they tried to outdo themselves from the last time! Their energy and excitement were contagious.

Our group brought this program to Calumet’s Youth Weekend because we feel that the work we are doing at Faith is God’s Work. The kids were really excited about demonstrating the program. We put on a PowerPoint presentation that explained the organization and the food packaging program. Then our youth got the opportunity to show everyone how it is done. Those in attendance eagerly got involved with assembling the meals, with many of them taking turns. The leaders had lots of questions and were very interested in getting involved.

With the synod initiative of Doing What Matters, we here at Faith really believe that we are doing just that, especially with our Youth Group. They are eager to get involved in community service and to help others. In just three weeks, we will be participating in World Visions 30-hour Famine where we will again package meals.

Inside Out

Recently, St James held its annual meeting; typical business (budget analysis, which is so much fun in this economy) and committee reports comprised the agenda.  Wonder of wonders, the final note of the meeting was positive.   I think we were all braced for the worst as far as finances went, but it seems that we’re hanging in there.  St. James has again shown itself as a community created for giving; whether it is time or talents or money.  These visible fruits that grow out of our love for God and our neighbors are not grounded in the world’s economics; rather, these fruits flourish on holy ground; fed and watered by word and sacrament.  And, as we saw in our meeting, these fruits take you by surprise, suddenly overnight the garden is blossoming.  Where there was nothing, now there is something.  And, it’s not what you expected at all! 

Over the last few years we have been engaged in a capital campaign seeking to address the accessibility and function of our community fellowship spaces and classrooms.  Plans have been drawn up, monies have been raised, but for a variety of reasons, economic instability not being the least of them, the project has slowed to a crawl.   Do we take a big leap and engage in an all-out major renovation or do we take baby steps, piecing smaller projects together. Do we revaluate the plans or go with our initial vision?  We are standing at the intersection, looking for the green light; waiting to take a step in a new direction.

Does God wait?  It seems that God has planted an idea in the hearts and minds of this congregation.  If we can all agree on one thing it’s that we need to grow and expand; we feel the need to build.  The physical signs are obvious; we’ve run out of classroom space and have taken to improvising and our fellowship hall needs better access so we can host larger community events.   We feel the Spirit pushing us to push out the walls and raise the roof, but how do we do it?

We may wait, but God does not wait.  As I sat in at the meeting and we went over the various committee reports, I realized that God had already broken ground.  Where we fretted about money and contractors, God was working on another “capital campaign”, and had already moved ahead with demolition and construction.  God has torn down walls, created new classrooms, and had taken the issue of access off the table.  God has turned us inside out. We have left the church building and gone out into the community to be the church. 

Our outreach ministries have become a part of our identity.  We are becoming a community within the community; learning what it is to be church outside of church.  Walls and windows and stairs and doors are no match for the power of the Holy Spirit.  We have turned from thoughts of elevators, to wheels, with Mobile Loaves and Fishes.  Walls could not hold back the groups who participated in the global missions projects in Honduras.  No space?   No problem!  “Have food and hands-will travel” is the motto for those who volunteered at Park Place Soup Kitchen.  We walked and knitted for those in need, and collected and delivered clothes and food to various local non-profits.  The men’s group moved out to local establishments, bringing prayer and Christian fellowship to unexpected places.  Fundraising raised the roof and we able to address the needs of our brothers and sisters across the nation and the globe. Ceilings and walls cannot contain us; we have embraced social media with blogs and facebook, expanded our web page and continued to provide coverage of worship services to local cable outlets. God is definitely up to something.

Yes, we still need to address the problems with our physical space, the building where we gather is not getting any more accessible, or welcoming, or bigger on its own. Changes are afoot.  But as we discuss and ponder our next steps we won’t be “frozen”.  Looking at who we are, indeed we are the body of Christ; it has become evident that this body does not sit still.  St. James is on the move and we’re finding that we have everything we could possibly need when we are doing something that matters to God.  Together we all are part of God’s building project and we are so blessed to have Jesus on-site, all the time.

 4 Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and ⁵like living stones, let yourselves be built^* into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

[1 Peter 2:4-5}  ⁹For we are God’s servants, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building. ¹¹For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ. 1 {Corinthians 3:9, 11]^{* 21}In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; ²²in whom you also are built together spiritually^* into a dwelling-place for God. [Ephesians 2:21-22]

Kim Bergstrand, St. James

We've Got It Down to a Science

Faith and Saint James are both hosting a Doing What Matters Bible Study during Epiphany. Jordan Krey wrapped up his work on Pastor Matthew's Call Committee just over a year ago. He and his wife have been attending this study. They've been very active members of Faith for a handful of years. Here are Jordan's thoughts on Doing What Matters:

A guy named Newton once wrote down three laws of motion:

An object at rest will stay at rest.
An object in motion will stay in motion.
Each action has an equal and opposite reaction.

The first law describes a congregation that from the looks of it is vibrant and healthy. The pews are filled and money is not all that difficult to come by. But something is missing. Bible study is not very well attended, people are uncomfortable praying out loud, and words like "pledging" and "tithing" make people cringe. What is missing? And does it matter?

The second law describes a pastor. One full of energy, with hundreds of new ideas and thoughts on how to implement them. Our areas of weakness are the areas about which this pastor is most passionate. The pastor seems to have a finger on what is missing and can say for certain that it matters.

The third law describes what happens when the two come together.  When the congregation is pushed, it pushes back. A lot of force is required to move such a creature as a Lutheran congregation.

Another guy, named Einstein, came up with a formula you may have heard of:

E = mc^2

 (or for our analogy)

Spiritual Energy = (What Matters * Congregation) ^ 2

For you math whizzes out there, what happens to your spiritual energy if your doing "what matters" reaches zero?  More importantly, what happens as doing "what matters" reaches infinity?  If you are still with me, this may seem like a lost cause.  If the congregation is at rest and requires a massive amount of force to get it moving, how will it ever start doing what matters?  

This is where the exponential comes in. The congregation will not move on its own or move because the pastor is pushing it. God is the one who will do the heavy lifting.  People -- including the pastor -- plant the seeds. They do what matters and their effort is squared. Jesus says that if we have faith the size of a mustard seed, we can move mountains.  Even the most stubborn of congregations cannot compare to that.

Mobile Loaves and Fishes-A Ministry that Does What Matters

The ministry of the Mobile Loaves and Fishes is a ministry that matters.  It’s a ministry whose home is in Texas, but was brought to Rhode Island several years ago.  The vehicle for the Mobile Loaves and Fishes is a fully functioning catering truck, loaded each week with food, hot drinks, and clothing.  Our friends at the Barrington United Methodist Church have been loading this truck and making runs to places like Woonsocket and Providence for the last three years.  Recently, they have invited us to join them. 

On Saturday, December 18th over twenty volunteers gathered at St. James  to prepare one hundred nutritious meals for the homeless and needy. The kitchen was abuzz with chatter as the food-prep group made peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, hot meatball grinders, washed fruit, sorted snacks and cookies and loaded it all into the Mobile Loaves & Fishes Catering Truck.  The truck was also outfitted with over fifty winter jackets, fleeces and sweaters as well as over one hundred knitted caps, mittens and scarves. The truck was topped off with bulging bags of toys

At noon the “run” team consisting of eight adults and four of our youth left for five planned stops, two in Woonsocket and then on to  Crossroads Rhode Island, a shelter in Providence. At each location people flocked to the truck for a warm meal and hot drink. The stop at Morin Heights was enormously touching as most of the people served were families with young children. The team arrived at a quiet street in the projects with a few scattered folks perched on their stoops.

 As word spread, the scene became a festive occasion with food, smiles, drinks, clothing, conversation, toys and even a little Christmas music shared by all! Our volunteers were able offer them warm clothing in a variety of sizes, colors and styles. Many of the children left chatting excitedly, wearing beautiful new hand-knitted caps. After being given a colorful nylon jacket, one little girl skipped off, beaming from ear to ear. Our youth were able to use their high school Spanish in conversations with children and adults. The run finished up at Crossroads where hot drinks were offered until all supplies were exhausted. The group returned to St. James at 3pm with an empty truck and a full heart, thankful for the many blessings they had experienced that day.

The work of the Mobile Loaves and Fishes is work that matters.  It’s also something that we were able to do because we saw what we had: people who were willing to serve, food to serve, and coats, hats, and mittens to give away.  Now, this emerging ministry is a part of who we are at St. James.  Our first two runs with the MLF truck have inspired so much energy and enthusiasm that we have budgeted funds for a monthly run throughout 2011, and are working to create partnerships for additional runs each month.

This ministry that matters has invigorated us, and inspired continued gifts of clothing, food, and time.  It’s a great example of being who you are, seeing what you have, and doing what matters!

Jill Bowen and Andrew Simon, St. James Lutheran Church

Who Are We?

Faith Lutheran Church in Quincy is steeped in history.  Many families boast several generations that have attended the church.  They have been part of the city for many years.  They share many stories, and members have known one another for decades.  This history is important as they begin to grapple with the question of Who are we?   The answer to that question begins the synod strategic planning process that will be shared with all congregations over the next three years.  The process includes three steps:  Be who you are.  See what you have.  Do what matters.

The first step is figuring out ‘who you are’ – the past, the present and the future - all rolled into one.  Not an easy question to answer – who are we.  Faith has a past rich with stories and traditions, a present blessed with a growing congregation and a future bursting with potential.  How to combine past traditions with future promise?  How to honor generations of families who’ve worshiped there for years and yet be welcoming to new members?  How to adapt to changing needs in the community, re-examining how Faith has served yesterday, and how it might serve tomorrow?

As a member of one church for the first four decades of my life, the church to which my parents belonged for two decades before that, I understand the comfort and security of a well known, well loved place.  I understand the struggle with which traditions and customs are gently molded to adjust to a new day and time.  I also understand the incredible growth that can occur by building on past strengths and channeling them in new directions.

As a non member of Faith and one familiar with organizational change, I was asked to spend the day with the church council from Faith as they worked on that first step.  Investing in their future, they spent hours wrestling with the question – Who are we?  Putting expectations and opportunity, hopes and fears on the table as they shared with one another how they’d answer the question of Who is Faith?  I’d like to say they answered that first question and are moving on to the second.  But an afternoon is not nearly enough time to define an organization that has been serving family and community for many years.  It is however, enough time to plant the seed, get some important questions asked and start the process of being who you are.

As we journey through the Advent season, what better time to remember to do what matters.  We’re surrounded by the secular celebration of Christmas - perhaps we should recall the following.  “If, as Herod, we fill our lives with things, and again with things, if we consider ourselves so unimportant that we must fill every moment of our lives with action, when will we have time to make the long, slow journey across the desert as did the Magi?  Or sit and watch the stars as did the Shepherds?  Or brood over the coming of the child as did Mary?  For each one of us there is a desert to travel, a star to discover, and a being within ourselves to bring to life.” (attributed to Eric Ericson).

Be who you are – a being within ourselves to bring to life

See what you have – a star to discover

Do what matters – travel the desert toward the Christ child

May your Advent be blessed with the true gift of Christmas to share with others.

Martha Bayliss Whyte

Christ the King, Holliston