Lakes and Farms

 Traveling along toward western Turkey we passed mountains and some beautiful lakes.  The lakes were calm so there are some stunning pictures -- Teresa was the photographer for most of the trip and she caught these shots. 

As we moved out of the mountains we moved into some of the farming country.  We were told that the houses on the farm property were not for living in like we live.  People tend to live in the towns and villages.  They will "sleep-over" in the houses on the farms during the harvest or planting seasons.  Otherwise, they drive their tractors and equipment to the farm each day.  We didn't see a lot of mechanical equipment in use on the farms.

Thanks for visiting.  Have a good/fun day.

The Silk Road and Caravanserai

We spent a better part of the day traveling along the ancient "Silk Road", an ancient trade artery along which the silk trade flourished around the time of Jesus.  It was fun knowing that the road our bus traversed was part of a larger, and more ancient, artery of commerce.

Along the way there were "caravanserai" enclosed havens or inns for the caravans of people, camels, and goods.  These havens were spaced according to the distance a caravan could travel in one day.  The deal was, apparently, if a caravan could make it to the next caravanserai, it was afforded protection and safety, both during the day and during the night. 

The caravanserai were square fortified enclosures with a single gate large enough for caravan animals to enter.  The courtyard was open.  The one we visited had a "multi-faith" chapel in the center.  All around the edges were large enclosed areas.  Along one side for the animals, the other for the humans.  The caravanserai would have provided provisions for the travelers, including food, rest and bath. 

We were told that when caravans arrived in the evening they would take time to worship, freshen up, care for the animals, unload the animals and settle the animals down for the night.  Then they would open up for the "locals" to enter the caravanserai to engage in trade from the various merchants.

Thus you can see that the caravanserai supported the flow of commerce, information, and people across the network of trade routes.

Here are some photos from the collection of my fellow traveler, Jeff Hawkey.  Thanks, Jeff.

View from outside.  Note the large brick terrace surrounding the caravanserai.

Here is the gate.  The Carved area is symbolic of the blessing of many "gods".

The Multi Faith area in the center of the courtyard.

Another view of the courtyard.  The arch to the left leads to "human guest areas."

The sheltered, but open areas for animals.

Thanks for stopping by.

Blessed Christmas to all.

Presiding Bishop Hanson's Christmas Message

This year the Christmas story is inseparable from our deep sorrow for the children of Newtown, all who died and all who mourn. We can make no sense of such violence, so we cry out for mercy. And God hears our pleas.

God responds with words of promise saying, "I am with you. I am with you in Jesus, the child lying in a manger. I am with you in Jesus who has borne your grief. I am with you in Jesus on the cross and risen from the dead."

God's promise is that nothing in all creation will separate you from God's love in Jesus. So amid the unspeakable, we can join the angel choir singing, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace." Because our hope is in Christ, we can rejoice in the wonder of Jesus' birth.

I wish you a blessed Christmas.

Mark S. Hanson
Presiding Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

40% OFF CHRISTMAS

40 % OFF CHRISTMAS

the sign said.

I paused for a moment

It caught me by surprise.

40% off Christmas?

It caught the storekeeper by surprise too, I think,

When I stopped to ask,

“Which 40% of Christmas are you taking off?”

Of course, it was an after Christmas sale. 

There was 40% off Christmas decorations, and the like.

But the sign just said,

“40% off Christmas”

I never got around to telling her,

But I kind of liked the sign.

You see,

I’d like to take about 40% off Christmas too--

Not in an after Christmas sale, mind you,

But in the before Christmas time--

What if we’d take about 40% off the time that we have to endure the pre- Christmas, ads, sales, and marketing campaign?  Maybe we could enjoy the season a bit more, and not be so fed up with it all by mid-December.  What if we’d diminish our expectations of what makes a “Merry Christmas” by about 40%?  Maybe we could not be so depressed when it is all over.  Or maybe, just maybe, we could relate a bit better to those for whom Christmas isn’t very “merry” at all--the grieving, the sick, those who are alone, the poor.

Or what if we’d spend about 40% less on gifts, parties, clothes, and dinners?  Maybe we would still give, enjoy, and share in ways that brought true glory to the God who gave the first gift--the gift of Jesus.  Or maybe we ought to take off about 40% of the things we do, the lights we put up, the pageants we go to, the time we run to shop for that one last gift.  Such a discount might make way for us to give more time for focus on what really matters in Christmas.

I, for one, happen to think that Christmas has gotten way out of hand.

Too much, too early, way too long; time, money, energy, and all the rest.

I, for one, happen to think that a 40% discount isn’t a bad idea at all. 

Stripping away 40% would leave 60%.

40% off Christmas leaves CHRIST--

That’s what this Day, and the 12 days following (not the 2 months prior)

are all about anyway--

The Christ, God’s gift of salvation.

Jesus, God’s Son,

who grew up to live, die and rise again for forgiveness of sins!

It’s about how God first gave, so we could serve God,

and bring glory to our Creator, by giving for each other.

So, let’s do it!!

40% off Christmas!!

Then CHRIST will be left

and we can celebrate the real reason for the season!!

"In Deepest Night"

These words of a hymn speak to the darkness of these days (both in terms of the shortest day of the year and the darkness of evil that destroys innocent lives). 

In deepest night we light a candle and remember that, as Kingdom Children, we are the "light of the world" and no darkness has ever over come light.

"In deepest night, in darkest days,
when harps are hung, no songs we raise,
when silence must suffice as praise,
yet sounding in us quietly
there is the song of God.

"When friend was lost, when love deceived,
dear Jesus wept, God was bereaved;
so with us in our grief God grieves,
and round about us mournfully
these are the tears of God.

"When through the water winds our path,
around us pain, around us death:
deep calls to deep, a saving breath,
and found beside us faithfully
there is the love of God."
-- Susan Palo Cherwien   (ELW 699)

Central Turkey Life

In central Turkey, rivers and waterways are especially valued because of how arid the countryside is.  Mostly the water is clean and the banks of the rivers accessible.  This scene isn't atypical in this part of Turkey.

Likewise, it is not unusual to find a nice outdoor restaurant along the banks of a river/stream like this one.  Here is a shot of the outdoor patio of one such restaurant (actually not to far from where the above picture was shot).  Even when it is hot, these covered outdoor patio areas are quite comfortable.

The specialty of this particular place was guvec, a local meat dish cooked in a pottery jar.  They make the pottery jars on site (see picture).  The dish is cooked in sealed pottery jar in a wood fired oven.  When done, the jar is brought to the table with with some ceremony a hammer is applied to the top of the jar, popping of the neck/lid and the steaming stew is poured onto a plate. It is all quite dramatic.  I didn't have this particular dish, but the reports were that it was delicious.

One of the things that was also quite interesting was to notice the contrasting dress patterns, with the very traditional and very western often being seen side by side.  It wasn't unusual, likewise, to see mixes of the two styles.  For example a young woman in blue jeans wearing a full head covering of the traditional style.
This photo was taken on a "Holy Day", a day when one might expect to see most people dressed in a traditional manner.

Thanks for stopping by today.  I'll be back with more pictures soon.

"What a Way to Begin!!"

On December 2, 2012, I had the opportunity to travel to Bloomfield, where I served for 10 years as the pastor of St. Mark's, and fellowship with the dear people of St. Mark's, bring the message for the First Sunday in Advent, series C, and speak about the exciting things that are happening in the life of the Lutheran Church, ELCA and Nebraska Synod.  Here is the message I brought.

Happy New Year!  That’s what today is, you know.  The first weekend of another liturgical church year cycle during which we recite and relive the cycle of our faith and the mission and ministry of Jesus among us and with us.  The expectation of his birth, his birth, his maturing ministry, his life, death, resurrection and ascension and then the long season of what it means to be His people in mission and ministry now ending with our Lord’s promised return.

But what a way to begin.  With a Happy New Year that, according to the Bible, sounds like the world’s attic is going to collapse into the world’s basement.  It sounds like the coming of a time when everything that has always been counted on as stable and enduring will begin to crack.

What a way to begin, with the sense that humanity is doomed and we cannot save ourselves, as much as we’d love to think we can.

What a way to begin, with Jeremiah who, from the middle of his own “doomsday”, the Babylonian Exile, looks forward to a new day, a day that took almost 600 years to happen, and still 2,700 years later still isn’t complete.

What a way to begin, with our Lord’s own words that point to “doomsday”, the end of times. 

A funny way to begin when the news is rife with the message of “the end” by those who sincerely believe that the Mayan calendar has something to say about it.

In fact, when I took a glanced at the Omaha paper before I left home this morning, it looked like there was a whole section devoted to “doomsday”, to the end of the world, to what it looks like when things are falling apart.   Oh, no, that was the sports section.  

Seriously, though, the “Living Section” has an article about a survival group that trains up around Tekamah.  They are serious.  This group is serious about how to survive a “doomsday” scenario.  The end of times.

What you notice, I hope, is that this doomsday message isn’t new.  It has been around (and gained popularity) every time when what seemed enduring was beginning to crack.  For the early Christians, where they were helpless in the face of persecutions and the political realities of the day, the doomsday message was rife. 

In succeeding generations (right up to our own), there have been unknown futures.  There have been nations perplexed, dismayed, and bewildered.  There have been personal and public disasters, worries that weight us down and paralyze us to inaction.  There have been the end of seasons in life.  There has been sufficient things to agonize us.  Finances.  Politics.  The fiscal cliff.  What our children are doing.  Global warming and an earth polluted. Personal and national security. Disease, paralysis and death.  Losses and failures.  Food safety.  There is no end to things that might agonize us, cause us worry.

Jesus suggests something more pro-active.  Jeremiah suggests hope. 

What Jesus gets, that few of us seem to understand, is that worry diminishes our ability to deal with the future.  Worry is the opposite of Advent.  Advent is about hope and anticipation.  Worry agonizes about the future.  So Jesus says, “Lift up your heads!”  Look with joy and anticipation. 

Jeremiah tells us that God has a new vision.  Not just to recreate the past (or rather what we remember about the past) (which wasn’t all that great to start with and certainly wasn’t want we remember it was).   A new day is surely coming, says Jeremiah.  Salvation is at hand.

If you look a little deeper into Jesus’ words, you’ll see that they are the end of the story.  They are from the days before Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection.  The truth here is this:  We begin at the end of the.

I love reading stories to little kids, Owen, now especially.  It is so fun when they know the end of the story because they have heard the story so many times.  It is so fun when they can deal with the scary parts because they know the end of the story.  Oh, yes, some adults are like that too, needing to read the last chapter before starting the book.  Knowing the ending seems to make the middle parts more bearable.

So “Happy New Year” (Advent) begins at the end of the story.  When things seem to be falling apart around us, when we are tempted to be paralyzed with worry, when we want to give up, we need to know future is open to us in a new way because of the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus.  The end of the story gives hope for today.

In Advent we see the coming of our God in every moment.  We see what has already come that makes us new.           

You see, when we understand that the battle has been won, that we have received everything and that the Holy Spirit of God is continually at work, then we can face the treats, the doomsdays, with the simple trust that God is acting for us. 

When we see that Advent isn’t a one time or once a year piece, a time expected for Jesus to return again, we can look for God entering human history, every day, today.  Every day is New Year.

I wonder if the walk of faith isn’t something like living in the shadows of doomsday, everyday.  Engaging in the struggles of the day, enjoying the moments, joy full or sorrowful, knowing That God has already taken care of it.  I wonder if it isn’t seeing God at work in the unexpected, around a corner, in the middle of the street, or in a back alley.

What a way to begin – at the end.  What a great way to begin, knowing that every day holds within itself the possibility of being a “doomsday.”  In faith, with full confidence in a God who is continually coming, in a God who asks us to look up, we face this day, this new year, this Advent, clinging to the One who loves us, who gives our lives meaning and promises us boldness and confidence because we are baptized.  And, as a wise old pastor once said, the death of baptism is the only death you need ever fear.”

So, what a way to begin!   

Happy New Year!!    

 Amen.

An Advent Thought

I’m easily entertained.  And I’m a latecomer to the “smart phone” generation. 

So, when I learned that one can say to Siri “I love you!”  She will respond, apparently from a set of pre-programed responses.

So, when I’m bored I simply push my smart I phone button and say, “I love you Siri”.

Her responses have been things like:

            “I respect you, Tom.”

            “You can’t, Tom.”

            “That’s nice, Tom, but it just won’t ever work.”

“You don’t even know me, Tom.”

“All you ever need is love, and your I phone.”

            (All along I thought, “All I need is love.”

So I wondered the answer to a different question.  “Do you love me, Siri?

Siri’s responses have been things like:

“Does apple make I-phones?”

“I respect you!”

“Look, a puppy!”

                        (I didn’t see that one coming.)

To be sure it opens a space for fun.  It opens a space to laugh and be surprised.

This weekend is the start of the Advent season.  Advent is time that is out of step with society (that already believes its Christmas).  Advent is a time of expectation and preparation, a time of waiting and reflecting.  It is time that puts into focus the best love that is out there, the love of God that came in a baby, a baby that grew and matured and followed the leading of the Holy Spirit to give His live for us all. 

In the middle of all the business and preparations.  It the middle of a societies’ Christmas gone amok, Advent holds open a space.  It holds open God’s space.  The space into which God can come as promised.  The space into which God, who has come so wonderfully already, can find a new home, a bigger space, a deeper root in our live.  A space into which the Kingdom that begins now in us can find a home to grow and move.

In this space called Advent we don’t have to play games to be assured of God’s love.  We simply rest into the space that holds Advent promise, Christmas hope, and Eteranal grace.

Some Scenes in Anatolia

"Anatolia" is the western protrusion of Turkey and thus comprises most of western half of the country.  A "pension" is a family in or motel. 

We saw scenes like this throughout the country.  Farmers don't live in the country like in the states.  They live in the towns and villages and travel to and from their property in carts like these pulled by their tractors.  Several family members, along with the tools needed (much work is done by hand), are regularly seen along the roads. 

I've also posted several random scenes from our travels in and near Cappadocia. 

 

Thanks for stopping by today.  I hope you are enjoying the "tour'.    And remember every picture will enlarge if you simply click on it.

Thanksgiving joy!!

More from Cappadocia

A few more interesting views of the "fairy towers" in Cappadocia.  This landscape is enchanting.
Thanks for stopping by "Sketchings...."

Back in Turkey, Cappadocia

Dangling at dawn above this primitive lunar landscape, I imagine some massive prehistoric creature clawing its way across the Turkish countryside, leaving carved valleys, fanciful rock formations and towering stone outcroppings in its ragged path.
In fact, Cappadocia’s stunning scenery was created about 30 million years ago, when massive volcanic eruptions left Central Turkey flowing in lava and buried in ash (known locally as tufa).
“The lava and erosion left behind a labyrinth of valleys and cut through the softer tufa, creating these isolated stone pinnacles topped by caps of harder rock.”  The locals call them "fairy chimneys because they were once believed to be inhabited by fairies.
Human hands shaped similarly incredible works in the soft tufa stone, carving cave houses, rock-cut temples, colorful dovecotes and sprawling underground cities in this rugged region where traces of human settlement are said to date back to 6500 BC.
Today, some of the cave houses are still inhabited, while others are being converted into boutique hotels.
Let these pictures capture your imagination.

Thanks for stopping by. I'll try to get back with some other interesting things soon.

"Sharing Your Life"

I had the chance to bring the message to the good people of Our Savior in Palmyra, NE and St. John's in Otoe, NE where my friend, Pr. Mark Ekstrom, serves.  I'm sharing it below.

For those who regularly stop by "Sketchings", I'm sorry I've been delinquent.  There were some vacation days, a couple of hospitalizations for my father and right now I'm in a stretch of especially busy things with the Nebraska Synod.  Thanks for stopping by.  I plan to have some new things for you all soon...

Joy!

Now here the message:  "Sharing  Your Life."

Bishop McCabe was trying to raise a million dollars for missions.  One day he received many discouraging letter.  There was one exception, a letter from a little boy.  When the bishop opened the little boy’s letter, out tumbled a battered and dirty nickel.  In the letter the boy had written:  “I’m so glad you are going to get a million dollars for missions.  I’m going to help you get it, to!  So here’s a nickel toward it!!  It’s all I’ve got right now, but when you want any more, just call on me!!”  (Hal Brady, “Where is Christ in this Picture?”  November 3, 1997, Dallas, Texas)

I love the wisdom and honesty of children.  Somehow it seems they can speak truth clear helpful ways.  This young man understood partnership in mission.  He grasps the work of ministry and mission and got on board, even in his small way, to encourage it.

The truth that we don’t always catch is that mission is about partnership.  It is about what we do together that could never do by ourselves.  Right now, in our Synod, we are hosting a series of “Mission Celebrations”.  Congregations are sharing mission stories and we are celebrating them.  One comment recently was, “I didn’t know that we are doing all of this is our church.” 

We don’t know, but we should know, because our mission is the church’s mission and the church’s mission is our mission.  Did you know that the word “synod” has a meaning of partnership, of what we are doing and being together?  Did you know that together (in Nebraska and across the ELCA) our partnerships are touching more lives than any other (secular or non-profit) organization in the world?  You see, my mission is your mission and your mission is mine.  And then we extend that web across the region, cluster, synod and our whole church.  We are hard at work in mission. Maybe that is why you are so tired at night…all the mission you do! 

Now, our connection to mission is usually financial.  It has to do with our giving and our generosity.  Our giving and our generosity is a reflection of our values and priorities.  If you don’t think that, just take a look at your spending patters and you will see your priorities.

A truth is this:  generosity doesn’t reflect our wealth – if it did we wouldn’t have to work so hard at it.  Generosity reflects our values.  It is a spiritual truth. 

The widow observed by Jesus is an example of giving which reflects value, not wealth. 

To help us in learning from the widow, we remember that widows were totally dependent on the community for their well-being.  And it is likely that widows understood more than anyone that their dependence was ultimately upon God.  Widows, more than any other demographic in Jesus day, lived in total dependence on and confidence in God’s providing.  That was just the way it was.  It was part of their psyche. 

So it isn’t too big a stretch to think that this widow had regularly cast her lot into the hands of God (and the system).  She had nothing to lose by giving her simple gift.  She had much to gain by casting her life God’s hands.  She was able to be generous out of her value of knowing God’s goodness. 

What we have to keep straight here is that this story isn’t about the widow’s faith.  Maybe that is why Mark’s account is so sketchy.  As soon as we start asking our questions, we miss the point.  The story is about God’s faithfulness.  It is about the fact that we can, even in our broken, sinful emptiness, place our whole lives into God’s hands. 

That’s what the widow did.  She cast her life into God’s hands.  In our text study last week, we talked about the word that is used to describe what she tossed into the collection coffer.  “Everything she had to live on”, has a bigger sense.  “Live on” has to do with “bios”, like biography, like her whole life story. 

I think the sense here isn’t that she gave her last two pennies.  It isn’t about the money.  It is about a surrender of her whole life.  It is that she was willing to “toss” her whole life into the hands of God.  It was as if she had all she needed to help God accomplish God’s work through her.  So to come with her simple offering, she did not fear her own vulnerability and societies exploitation, she gave her whole life; she cast herself into the hands of the Savior.

What it looks like we can say here is this:  The widow’s offering wasn’t about her “wealth”.  If it was she might not have given anything.  Certainly her two coins had no effect on the temple treasury.  The temple didn’t really need her two pennies. 

But she gave out of her values, her need to give and be generous.  Her generosity was born of her desire to live fearlessly with her whole life, her whole “bios” in Gods hands. 

I once heard a children’s sermon that got at this point.  The congregation happened to have one of those large offering trays that were used to gather the smaller offering trays at the altar.  He placed that tray on the floor and stepped in.  His point was that when we give, our offerings, flowing out of our faith priority, out of God’s economy, are our whole life, our whole being, our “bios” given and dedicated to God, connecting our mission with God’s mission with the mission of the person next to us. 

It was a vivid visual of the truth of the widow’s gift, of the young man’s nickel.  It is a vivid visual of Gospel truth.

You see, the God of Creation, the author of all life, the giver or all we have and are, wants our whole lives.  Our God is more interested in our commitment than our offerings, our willingness to give ourselves than to give our money.  Our God wants the chance to receive us as we are to fill our emptiness, to renew our depleted spirits (in word and Sacrament) and to work wonders with our whole lives, lives committed to Him, returned to Him to be blessed by Him.

Here is a little play on words and the gift of the widow.  It is titled “The Widows (plural not possessive) might (strength not ‘little bit’)”. Maybe it reveals the widow’s heart to teach all of us:

The widows might be examples of how to depend on God!

The widows might be examples of God’s love for us!

The widows might express Jesus’ own sacrificial death!

The widows might teach us about total commitment!

The widows might give us an example of how to respond to the bountiful gifts of God!

The widows might teach us how to give everything, with holding not even a penny or single act of devotion and service!

The widows might teach us how to give everything, even each individual moment of our lives!

The widows might show us how god provides unceasingly for all our needs in life enabling us to make a total commitment to Him!

The widows might give us a glimpse into the secrets of living – and giving!!

May God bless us in sharing our lives, our “bios” in partnership and mission!   

Amen.

Eating in Turkey, near Ephesus

One of the fun things (really "fun" for me) was the variety of foods we were able to experience and share along the tour.  A highlight was dinner in this "home" near Ephesus.  Our guide said that he was going to take us to one of his favorite places, a home in the country.  Indeed, it was out a ways from town and it was a family "home" that had been expanded to include a "dining room" that could host a bus tour group.  When we arrived the serving table was full, just like a good "Lutheran Pot Luck".  I think every dish but 2 or 3 were vegetarian (there were probably 20 pans right out of the oven).   Eggplant is big.  Stuffed grape leaves are popular as are other common vegetables like tomatoes, peppers and zucchini.

Here are some of the pictures of the spread.  One is from Jeff, a member of our tour.

Thanks for stopping by.  Life has been pretty full and I'm getting to this spot as often as I'd like.

See you again in a week or so...

Turkey -- Continuing the Tour

When we reached Cappadocia, a region of "central Turkey", we were able to tour a Pottery showroom as well as the production areas.  I was amazed at the handwork that produced beautiful pieces.  Here is just a sample of the intricate designs, many dating back hundreds of years.  Remember this painting and design work is "freehand" and not machine produced or guided. 

Illustrative of the four step process (1 at top, 2 at bottom, 3 at left and 4 at right)

A finished plate

Close up for detail

 Remember you can get larger views of the pictures by just clicking on the picture.

Thanks for stopping by.  Next time I'll tell you more about this "magical" area of Turkey.

Back to Tarsus, Paul's Hometown

In Tarsus, under a few feet of dirt and rubble accumulated during the last 2000 years, there is an excavated section of a town road which was in extensive use during the time of Paul, Cicero, Julius Caesar, Mark Anthony, Augustus and Hadrian.

The section pictured is something like 20 feet wide and 200 feet long.  It has a cambered surface and drainage tubes under the "curb" which were to carry runoff water into the "sewer". 



















There is also a working well in the same area, an area called the "Jewish Section".  It is known as "Paul's Well."  Now, whether Paul actually used the well is up for debate.  But it is cool to stand in the area of what was once a bustling city center.

"Through New Eyes"

This is a piece I wrote for "We Do Mission", an on-line communication of the Nebraska Synod, ELCA.

Thanks for visiting....

First of all, “Thank You!” for the opportunity to serve with and among you as the Director of Evangelical Mission in the Nebraska Synod.  I have been blessed in so many ways as I see the church in mission and ministry, as I witness the inner passion this Church has for mission and ministry and as I share in the resolve to transform lives and raise up missional leaders, faithful stewards and healthy disciples.

In so many ways, I get to witness our Church at work through new eyes.  As I make my way around the Synod and into the Churchwide offices, I’ve seen our Church in a new way.  I’ve discovered how much mission and ministry takes place behind the scenes.  I’ve found so much that doesn’t make for slick marketing or catchy “sound bites”.    Instead, across the Church significant mission and ministry is being accomplished in and through people who may go unnoticed, yet, who, in their faithful service, are heroes for the sake of the Gospel!  Through my new eyes, I’ve been blessed to see how profound our work is and the difference we make through our “mission share” in “sharing the mission” of the risen Christ.

Seeing the Church from this vantage point has caused me to say, “I wish I would have had this experience 25 years ago.  My ministry would have taken such a different shape.”   The fact is it has been easy over the years to be myopic, seeing only what is close at hand.  It has been easy to pass up opportunities to deepen connections with Synod and Churchwide expressions of our Church.    It has been easy to say, “Oh I know about that” and then quickly move back to the routines of parish life.

For example, early in this position I had the opportunity to travel to Churchwide offices Chicago.  Can you believe this was the first time in my ministry that I’ve visited Churchwide?  Wow!!  In standing in the offices on Higgins road I was overwhelmed at the work that is being done there.  My eyes widened as I saw the Church in mission at this level.  What I learned first hand is that “Chicago”, as we call it, isn’t a building or a bureaucracy.  Instead I saw people, very competent and committed people, who are daily involved in ministries that support and enhance the mission of this Church.  In meeting many of these people, I learned first hand the connections that are being made between our Church and our ministries throughout the world.  I met a young woman who literally beamed with excitement about her mission in connecting talented youth to global mission opportunities. 

In the field of my work, I have learned that our ELCA executives don’t just hole up in 11^th floor offices, but get out into the synods and congregations to encourage leaders, learn about successful ministries, suggest alternative strategies for mission and “get their hands dirty” in some of our most challenging areas of ministry and mission.

In relating to my peers from other synods, I’ve heard stories and witnessed first hand the kind of renewal that is moving through our church to deepen personal faith, challenge congregations to focus on their neighborhood (rather than on themselves) and deepen the commitment of individuals and mission centers to reach out with the resources with which God has blessed them.  For example, I had the opportunity to worship with a congregation in suburban Seattle that is renewing their historical presence in the neighborhood with a ministry focused on the hunger needs of the community by establishing a community garden plot and a Sunday morning ministry that serves up a healthy dose of the Grace of God for a diverse and changing community. 

And moving about the Nebraska Synod, I’ve seen something I’ve only glimpsed before:  that each mission center has a profound “back story” that motivates mission, that inspires ministry and that finds its expression in the way ministry is shaped.  Mission Centers are finding creative ways to deal with new immigrants and declining populations; to fight hunger with a community garden or a mobile food pantry; or to renew the spiritual life of “20 somethings” or a more mature leadership base. 

Through these new eyes I know that I haven’t always made it easy for people to connect to the larger mission of the church.  I haven’t even been very attentive to taking advantage of opportunities to broaden my own experiences. 

Having seen through these new eyes I know that I’ll be more conscientious in sharing stories, painting pictures and being a “cheerleader” for our Church and for the mission and ministries that we so faithfully tend from individual to mission center to synod to church wide and even into the global community.

Again, thank you for this opportunity to serve with you.  Please be in touch if there is any way that I might support your ministry and mission.

Tom Miller

Director of Evangelical Mission (ELCA)

Assistant to the Bishop (Nebraska Synod)

Nebraska Synod, ELCA

Grandson Owen

On the beach; St. George Island, FL

Here's the smile I've got to enjoy the last several days.