It has been another busy week of online meetings and ministry. Our partners in the ELCSL continue their work through the empowerment center making and distributing masks. They also are able to distribute food and other resources to marginalized communities in Sierra Leone. Particularly the blind, aged, and physically disabled. We are grateful for their faithful work and wise stewardship of resources and care for neighbor.
We had a great check-in/prayer time on Thursday morning. We met Dr. Don Eisenhauer who will be leading our webinar on Grief Coaching on Tuesday May 5th at noon (central). https://www.ntnl.org/…/learning-coaching-skills-for-grief-…/
Saturday morning I spent in the annual meeting of the Journal of Lutheran Ethics advisory council. This is a new role for me as the bishop representative on the council. The JLE has a new editor and is moving towards how to be more relevant for congregational usage. In particular each issue (bi-monthly) has congregational discussion questions and resources related to the topic. This is a good resource for pastors or lay leaders looking to construct education forums and conversations.
Another blessing of this online journal is its ability to be nimble and get resources out quickly. For example a special edition related to COVID-19 has been published for May. I would encourage our leaders to check out this resource and also a new website will be coming this fall.
The ethic of caring for neighbor is central to our lives. Whether we do it in direct service to those easily overlooked in our communities or across the world. We do that also with care for one another and engaging our own grief work in this time, thinking critically about the why of our work.
As your communities continue to discern next steps in worship and life together please know you are in my prayers and I encourage you to read again our counsel on in person activities. www.ntnl.org/coming-back-together-update-april-28/ #NTNL #ELCSL #InMissionTogether