Devotion: Saranam Kyrie

Yesterday in my conversation with Pastor Sally we continued our Epiphany focus on global mission, in the words of Simeon’s song: “A light to light the nations of the world.” I shared the history of the planting of a Southeast Asian ministry in Queens in the Metropolitan NY Synod of the ELCA. Pastor Daniel Peter from the Andrha Pradesh Lutheran Church in India was the pastor who developed the outreach. After the Tsunami in South Asia we gathered for comfort and renewal with South Asian Lutherans and neighbors for comfort and prayer. In the pastor’s blog is a devotion I wrote about that event.

Doing It Differently

I was planning a large camp game of capture the flag. There were about 150 kids playing. How in the world were we going to be able to keep everyone honest as to what team they were on? Our confirmation group had not pre-planned being able to ask students to wear or bring a certain color shirt to help with this kind of thing. I looked around and saw a group of leaders cleaning paint brushes from an art activity from free time. There! That’s it! Let’s use paint!

Yolanda’s Story

AAMPARO is the ministry of the ELCA which accompanies migrant minors (and their families) in Central America, their country of origin (especially the Northern Triangle: Honduras, Guatamala and El Salvador); in Mexico (the country of transit); and at the southern border of the US. I was Director of Domestic Mission for the ELCA and Rafael Malpica-Padilla was Director for Global Mission. We led a delegation to Central America to hear the stories of those who have been deported, and to hear what drives families to attempt to migrate to the US. This is one of the stories we heard

Cozy in Christ

Hygge (pronounces Hue-guh) is a Danish concept that cannot be easily described in one English word but encompasses a feeling of cozy contentment through enjoying the simple things in life. If you’ve ever sat and simply watched it snow while you read a book or sipped from a warm mug, you’ve experienced hygee without even knowing it. If I had to put the concept of hygge into one English word, I would probably use cozy.

There is No Short Cut

Seventeen years ago, Amadou Diallo was killed in a hail of forty-one bullets from police guns in the Soundview section of the South Bronx, holding a wallet, not a gun, in his hand. Bruce Springsteen wrote a song about it, “41 shots…American Skin.”  When I wrote an editorial about it, it got me in a lot of trouble. I said that if Amadou had been my son (one of my sons was Amadou’s age), he would still be alive. I called on public and religious leaders to admit that we have a racial problem in our community and that we needed to find the resolve to face it together.

Nature of Epiphany

I would like to reflect with you on the nature of Epiphany and the ministry we share at Saint Luke, especially as we find the mission field not somewhere else, but right outside our doors.

See It With New Eyes

Nativity scenes are all around us. Over the years in my parish ministry we had children’s processions at the beginning of each Advent liturgy. On the first Advent Sunday they would bring in the stable, the straw, and light the first candle. In successive liturgies would come the animals, the shepherds, the wise men, the mom and dad. And then the baby.

Mary, Did You Know?

Once every three years, our lectionary gives us Mary’s song. A joyous proclamation of her faith in what would become a defining moment for her as she stands in the doorway of Elizabeth’s house. And every three years, there seems to be debate and conversation on social media regarding the song, “Mary, did you know?” This year was no different. And as we move into this 4th week of advent and hear Mary’s song, I can across a reflection on this exact topic from Timothy Marcus Smith, ELCA Bishop of the North Carolina Synod that I wanted to share as a part of this week’s Pastors Blog:

Wait for the Light

In Advent we wait for the light…

A sign above the door tells you to “wait for the light” when you get off the bus in Manhattan. But when you get off the bus on the Lower East Side the sign is also in Spanish and says, “espere la luz.” In English, “wait” is not as rich, lush and romantic as the Spanish “esperar,” which means to wait, hope, expect and anticipate all at once. The light for which we wait is Jesus Christ. And we not only wait for the light, but hope for it, anticipate it, work toward it, and long for it.