Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Thank You

The past few weeks we have focused on the Good Gifts program through the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). I have been deeply touched by your generosity and support of this campaign and I thank you for your gifts and offerings. We will update the totals on Easter Sunday and make a final report later in April so keep your eyes open for that.

This program has been a blessing to support. I have heard stories of families discussing which gifts to give, causing some spirited conversation around the dinner tables. I have talked to many about the need for not just food and animals but also health kits and education materials and supplies for worship and Christian education. Not only are we offering gifts, but we are also opening our eyes to the needs of our neighbors. I guess you could say this program has been a "good gift" to us.

When I first talked to Pastor Larry and Cindy Hoffsis about this program as our Lenten focus for the second year in a row, we hoped the response would be as positive as last year. Our concern was that there might not be as such a good response since we did this before. But we agreed there is no down side to feeding the hungry and helping those in need. We decided that any number of gifts would be a blessing. The good news is our concern was not warranted and our goal of three hundred gifts is in sight. Thank you for your gifts.

Please note that it is not too late to give a gift.

Thank you to Bill Lynch for his weekly devotions. Here is one more:



Mark 6:56

And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed.

Jesus gave himself. Jesus gave himself fully and without reservation. Wherever Jesus went people came to him and sought healing and salvation from the troubles of their lives.

As we walk with Jesus this Holy Week, we know and begin to understand the depth of the statement, “Jesus gave himself.” Jesus comes into the lives of individuals and entire groups of people and gives himself fully. Yes, we must, we need, we will, run to Jesus. There is no way that we can do this on our own, either individually or corporately, without Jesus. We need a Savior, so we run to Jesus for salvation.

Jesus comes to us in the serving, in the washing of feet, in the bread and in the wine. Jesus comes to us and invades our bodies and our spirit to the very core of our being. Jesus comes to us in the deepest part of our gut. Jesus comes to us in the core of our being. Jesus comes into our heart and shows us a love that saves us from sin, death, our selfish ways and the devil.

As we see Jesus on trial and tortured and hung from a cross and as we see Jesus in pain, may we come to know the healing that only Jesus can bring to us. Yes, Jesus comes to us in the villages, the cities, the farms or anywhere we may be, to save us. Jesus comes to save each one of us and all of us together.
 
As we wrap up the “Good Giving Campaign” for this Lenten Season, may we see how Jesus has come to heal not only ourselves individually but also the entire “Farm” so to speak. Jesus has shown how to come to the “Farm” and save those in need.

We have been invited to emulate the life of Jesus in a small way by giving to those in need. We have given to those in the villages, in the cities and in the farms. We have given to those in the marketplaces and those that beg to just reach out and touch a tiny part of the fringe of Jesus’ cloak. We have been invited and have given of ourselves to those in need.

We stand as one with all the people of God and receive the very grace that Jesus has come to deliver to the entire “Farm” this Holy Week in Jesus gift of salvation. This week I present to you, the “Farm.” I present to you an opportunity to give the “Farm” as a response to the gift of life and salvation that we witness this Holy Week in the life of Jesus.

The Family Farm… 

“A cow, a couple of goats, 10 chicks, two pigs, a duck, farming tools—plus training and marketing support—can help a family farm its way to a fresh start. With new tools and techniques, crops will grow bigger and stronger than ever before. Eggs, milk and meat from farm animals will provide enough food to eat and sell on the market, helping a family escape the cycle of hunger and poverty for good.”

Through the Good Gifts Catalogue you have an opportunity to give in such a small, yet such a great way…


This week especially, remember how Jesus has come to you and to all of us on the “Farm.” How Jesus gave himself fully and without reservation. In your moments of reflection and prayer, give thanks for all Jesus has done and shown to us… individually… and corporately. Thanks be to God!

Prayer

Father thanks for Jesus. Thanks for life, for living, for learning, for caring, for loving. Thanks for the opportunity to help another in a small way and to see and remember how you have shown help to all of us in both small ways and ways so fantastic that we can’t even explain those ways with mere words. Be with us through this week as we prepare for that celebration of Life springing forth from the grave in love for all people. --- Amen

UPDATE:

As of March 26, 2013,  238 gifts have been given

Money given to the Good Gifts Program for these gifts and loose offering - $8,743.

THANK YOU for your gifts!

Peace,

Pastor Charlie

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Education

Do you have a favorite teacher? Someone who challenged you to use your brain, challenged you in your learning, and encouraged you to learn more? What a blessing education can be. The ELCA Good Gifts program provides several gifts that enhance education, including textbooks, school fees and more. 

Bill Lynch shares the importance of these gifts in his devotions for us this week:


Product Image

 

Genesis 24:19

When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.”

This is a passage about a wife for Isaac. A wonderful, loving person and a God given gift, to not only Isaac, but to all of us, as we witness her faith and values. Rebekah was a woman that the servant of Abraham was led to by an angel of God. Wow! What more could any of us ask for in a life mate? 

Abraham’s servant traveled to Mesopotamia to seek a wife for Isaac. The servant came with beautiful gifts. It was evening and the servant went to the well at the time when the women would come to get water. The servant had his camels kneel at the well. Then the servant said a prayer. A prayer asking God for help in finding a wife for Isaac. Before the servant had finished praying, the prayer was being answered.

Rebekah arrived at the well and gave the servant a drink of water and gave the servant’s camels some water as well. Rebekah kept running to the well and giving and giving and giving water until all the camels had enough to drink. 

Beautiful Rebekah, beautiful in vision but beautiful more so for her spirit of giving and love and faith. The angel of God and surely God himself, was directly involved in this moment of giving. 

This is where we are blessed with this story of Rebekah. We have been given wonderful opportunities to learn ourselves and to give learning to others. As we observe the giving heart of Rebekah that returns to that well of water time after time, we can give likewise to another person, or perhaps many people in need. The heart of Rebekah led by the Spirit of God to give from that life giving water in that eternal well of giving, can also be the heart and spirit from which we give. 

Lessons learned and actions taken out of giving love. A love displayed through our Savior, Jesus Christ, and a love emulating the love of Jesus in Rebekah’s kindness and beauty. All lessons learned from the gift we have been given of Holy Scripture. A Book placed into our hands early in our Christian life through which we witness faithful lives of God’s people throughout time. A wonderful gift of love given to us and placed before us from our baptism forward into eternity. A gift that witnesses God’s Gift to us.

Many families can barely afford to send their children to school. And paying for textbooks can be even harder. Books for an entire classroom help 20 or more school children learn essential subjects like math, science and language. These books are building blocks for a brighter future.

Through the Good Gifts giving initiative of the ELCA you can help students learn and build a future that brings new life and hope and opportunity.

Consider a gift and give from the beauty of your heart.


Prayer

Lord; open wide my heart of faith and love and giving, that I too may return to the well of the living water and give to another in need. I thank you for giving me the Bible to read and come to believe in all you have done for all people. As you speak to me through your Word, may I also act boldly in love. --- Amen

Total Gifts Given - 186 (our goal is 300!)
Dollar Amount of Gifts Given PLUS Wednesday Night Offerings- $6,440





Global Barnyard


24


Goats


36


Chicks


18


Pigs


20


Ducks


6


Sheep


2


Fish Pond


Water


6


Water Jugs


2


Set of Water Purification Tablets


Health Care


11


Health/Dental Kits


12


Child Vaccinations


Malaria


11


Mosquito Nets


1


Malaria Protection Women and Children


2


Medicine to Treat Malaria Patients


Agriculture


4


Fruit Tree Seedlings and Farm Tools


Grow the Church


7


Bible and Hymnal


Women and Children


2


Food -Orphan


9


Textbooks for Children


3


Food for 10 soup kitchen


1


Microlean


3


School Fees for Children



We have also received donations for five blankest and $250 toward the digging of a well.

Thank you for you continued efforts!

Peace
Pastor Charlie


 

 

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Helping Sheep? Or Helping Sheep?


 
The devotions included here can be seen as a play on words - Helping sheep?  Or is it helping sheep?
It will make more sense when you read it.  Either way, it is about stewardship. How are we being good stewards of what God has entrusted to us? I am pleased to share with you our weekly update on Good Gifts, the ELCA Global Mission program to help feed the hungry and give assistance and hope to those in need. Because of the generosity of the members of Epiphany Lutheran Church, the gifts given continue to grow. Thank you for your gifts!
 
A devotion from Bill Lynch:


 

Matthew 12:11

He said to them, ‘Suppose one of you has only one sheep and it falls into a pit on the sabbath; will you not lay hold of it and lift it out?

It's a chance to do some good. Why let the chance go by for now? This verse is surrounded, once again by the Pharisees attempt to bring charges against Jesus’ teachings. The controversy was around the laws of the Sabbath. There was some disagreement in the answer to this question. In Galilee the answer would have been yes, however in Qumran the answer would have been no. 

The controversy of this question is surrounded in the context of this verse. Jesus and his disciples grew hungry on the Sabbath. They plucked some ears of grain and ate them. When the Pharisees observed what was done, they told Jesus that his disciples were doing what was not lawful to do on the Sabbath. Jesus then, recounted an Old Testament story of David and his men, being hungry on the Sabbath, stopping and eating the bread of the Presence because they were famished. This was unlawful also for David because only the priests could enter the Temple and eat this bread.

Jesus pointed out to the Pharisees that he was greater than the Sabbath. Imagine how this went over with the Pharisees. Jesus continued on into the synagogue and was about to heal a man with a withered hand. So, Jesus was asked if it was legal to heal on the Sabbath.

Heal a man, or rescue a sheep on the Sabbath. It was proper to rescue a sheep in some places, so why wouldn’t it be proper to heal on the Sabbath? Jesus is all about healing and saving. So he healed the man.  So, what about the law? It’s lawful to do good any time! 

The sheep in this story were an example of the need of mercy. We, likewise as the sheep, are examples of the need of mercy. God sent his son into this world to rescue us. We are sunk deep into the pit of selfishness, sin, death and evil. We need God to rescue us! We need Jesus to save us, Sabbath day or any time. We need Jesus! Jesus comes to rescue us, his sheep, and saves us.

In a similar way, we have an opportunity to give to another in need of help. The warm and durable wool from sheep is especially valuable for a family living in poverty. Wool can be easily made into hats, sweaters, coats and blankets to keep family members warm and dry. These products—and even the wool itself—can be sold at the local market for extra income. And what’s more, sheep’s milk can be used to make nutritious dairy products. For $125 you can give to another in need and give the gift of sheep through the ELCA Good Gifts Catalogue. Do it anytime and on any day. After all… It’s lawful to do good any time! Aren’t we all so blessed to have Jesus? Thanks be to God!

Prayer
Lord; may I recognize the sheep in the pit on any day and loving give and help out. --- Amen


Total Gifts Given - 136 (our goal is 300!)
Dollar Amount of Gifts Given PLUS Wednesday Night Offerings- $4,516


Global Barnyard


19


Goats


25


Chicks


13


Pigs


15


Ducks


2


Sheep


1


Fish Pond


Water


4


Water Jugs


2


Set of Water Purification Tablets


Health Care


6


Health/Dental Kits


12


Child Vaccinations


Malaria


10


Mosquito Nets


1


Malaria Protection Women and Children


2


Medicine to Treat Malaria Patients


Agriculture


3


Fruit Tree Seedlings and Farm Tools


Grow the Church


6


Bible and Hymnal


Women and Children


2


Food -Orphan


8


Textbooks for Children


3


Food for 10 soup kitchen


1


Microlean


1


School Fees for Children



Thank you for you continued efforts!

Peace
Pastor Charlie