Tuesday, August 18, 2009

God's Work. Our Hands.

This week, our ELCA Churchwide Assembly is being held at the Minneapolis Convention Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In attendance are 1,045 voting members from 65 synods serving on behalf of the 4,709,203 baptized members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. They are gathered for worship, Bible study, discussion, and action on a number of proposals regarding our church.

This year's theme is: God's Work. Our Hands. In celebration of all the ways that churches in the ELCA are seeing God's work change the world through their own hands, a video contest was held. The following are just a few of the many inspirational videos that you can check out on the ELCA website to see the many ways that God is working through the people of the ELCA.

God's Work. Our Hands: First Trinity Lutheran Church in Washington D.C.

God's Work. Our Hands: St. John Lutheran Church in Janesville, WI.

God's Work. Our Hands: St. Matthew Lutheran Church in North Hollywood, CA.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Back to School Blessing

Our church kids are looking forward to the start of another school year! This week, the God Rockz group met together for a Back to School Bash. They each brought some new or gently used school supplies that will be handed out to the families who come to our mobile food pantry. They also wrote a note to go along with these school supplies to remind the recipients that God loves them. This Sunday during worship, these bookbags will be brought to the altar to be blessed along with the bags of all of the students, teachers, and school workers in our church. May Christ's light shine through us this year into our schools, our neighborhoods, and our workplaces.