[DistUpd] August 13
District Updates
distupd at lists.ndlcms.org
Wed Aug 13 15:23:41 CDT 2008
Update for August 13
A publication of the Nebraska District, a District ABLAZE!
Greetings in the name of our Heavenly Father.
As many families are preparing for the start of another school year by purchasing school supplies, buying new school clothes, and beginning new school-year routines, children in Sudan will be learning in a very different way. Imagine walking to school every day, sitting down on a tin coffee can under a large shade tree where a small chalkboard is propped up, and being one of 500 students being taught by one of eight teachers at the school.
While this may sound very different from any school we might imagine, it is the reality for more than 1,300 students who learn in the Lutheran schools in the Upper Nile Region of Sudan. These schools, part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Sudan, provide children with a good education, as well as teaching them about their Lord Jesus Christ who loves them and cares for them.
The Nebraska District is pleased to be ministry partners on this mission field through LCMS World Mission. More information on the Lutheran church in Sudan is available on the District website (www.ndlcms.org<http://www.ndlcms.org/>), as well as the LCMS World Mission website (http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=6745).
Nebraska District congregations and schools are invited to be mission partners by adopting one of these schools and providing a roof for shelter or required uniforms for the students. More information and adoption agreements are available on the District website at http://www.ndlcms.org/ministries/district/agreements.html and through Gary Thies.
* Prayer Requests
* District Youth Gathering Registration Materials Mailed
* New Resource on Bullying Available from District Office
* Concordia University Opening Service
* Ablaze! DVD Available for Congregations
* Seminaries to Offer Greek Classes Online
* In the News: Saving the Gift of Sight
* A Fan into Flame Frequently Asked Question
* Heart for Honduras Medical Mission Opportunity
* Lutheran Choir in Lincoln to Begin Rehearsals
* Rev. James Fandrey Named New Lutheran Heritage Foundation Director
* Lutheran Hour Ministries Offers Upcoming Tours of Asia and Latin America
PRAYER REQUESTS
Kaitlyn McFadden - We join with Kaitlyn and her family in prayers after she was injured in a lawn-mowing accident two weeks ago in which she lost her lower leg (from the knee). Katie is the 7-year-old great-niece of Pastor John Ryding of Christ, O'Neill. She was hospitalized in St. Joseph's Medical Center, in Wichita, Kansas, where the doctors performed surgery in an attempt to save the leg. Please remember Kaitlyn and her family during this very stressful and uncertain time, asking our Heavenly Father to grant Kaitlyn comfort and healing.
Back to top
DISTRICT YOUTH GATHERING REGISTRATION MATERIALS MAILED
Just over two months remain until the 2008 Nebraska District LCMS Youth Gathering, Identified, begins in Omaha from November 21-23. Registration packets for this event were mailed to all District congregations in early August. If your congregation's youth leaders didn't receive the registration packet, visit www.neyouth.org<http://www.neyouth.org/> for additional information, or contact Kathy at the District Office, 888-643-2961 or kathym at ndlcms.org<mailto:kathym at ndlcms.org> for further assistance.
Activities for LCMS youth and friends kick off on Friday evening, November 21, at the Holiday Inn Convention Center, hosted by our keynote speaker, DCE Jeffrey Meinz from Colorado Springs, Colorado. Throughout the weekend, we'll be exploring through worship, praise, study, and fellowship how our identities have been changed in Jesus Christ, as revealed in 2 Cor. 5:17 - "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come."
Non-LCMS youth are invited to join their LCMS friends for a weekend designed to share how each one of us can have a new identity through Jesus Christ. Youth who are not members of LCMS congregations must register with a sponsoring LCMS congregation - no individual registrations will be accepted. Youth leaders are encouraged to contact the District Office with questions.
Back to top
NEW RESOURCE ON BULLYING AVAILABLE FROM DISTRICT OFFICE
It's time for school to begin-are your students ready? The Nebraska District Parish Health Committee has a new resource to be used with youth grades 4 - 9.
Through a domestic violence grant from the Family Violence Council and Interchurch Ministries of Nebraska, the Parish Health Committee at the Nebraska District Office has obtained a resource focused on bullying prevention: The Protectors - The Faith-Based Solution to Adolescent Bullying.
The resource consists of six lessons can that can be used by a school or church during Sunday school, midweek, camps, and retreats to provide a Christian response to bullying. It can work for one-on-one instruction also. This curriculum helps target bystanders, bullies, and even provides parents with life-changing facts about which kids get bullied, why, and what they should do today to help their child.
The Protectors curriculum is designed to:
* Increase student empathy for others.
* Help students realize that not only do they have a moral obligation not to bully others, but to also help kids who are being bullied.
* Increase a child's ability to behave assertively, making them less likely to be targeted by bullies.
* Increase the student's ability to verbally defend himself against bullies.
* Increase a child's understanding of choices when they witness verbal or physical violence.
* Foster courage, which is essential to deep love, spiritual growth, and faithfulness.
* Increase an understanding that how students carry themselves greatly predicts whether they are targeted or not.
* Increase their understanding of God's love for justice and mercy, and His hatred for injustice and cruelty.
Each lesson includes:
* Bible courage verses
* Opportunities to learn how to be more assertive and courageous
* Questions-and-answer time
* Real-life stories from real-life kids
* The Protectors ending prayer
To borrow this resource, please contact Julie Roebke at the Nebraska District Office at 888-643-2961 or julier at ndlcms.org<mailto:julier at ndlcms.org>. A complete list of resources is available at the District website: http://www.ndlcms.org/congregational/services/parish-health/library.html.
Back to top
CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY OPENING SERVICE
Concordia University, Nebraska will officially open its 115th academic year at the opening worship service on Sunday, Aug. 24, at 7 p.m. at St. John Lutheran Church in Seward. The public is invited to attend.
"It is a joy to start our year in worship," said Rev. Ryan Matthias, the new campus pastor for Concordia. "Our theme for the year is 'Rooted, Established, Abounding' and reminds us how Christ has rooted us and established us in the faith and how we respond with abounding thanksgiving. This service is just one of many for us to praise God for his gifts to us."
Rev. Larry Krueger, assistant to the president of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, will serve as the preacher. Rev. Scott Bruick, pastor of St. John, will be the reader for the service and Matthias will be the liturgist. Choirs and faculty members from Concordia will lead the music.
The service will also recognize the new faculty and staff and those professors advancing in academic rank.
Back to top
ABLAZE! DVD AVAILABLE FOR CONGREGATIONS
Congregations who wish to begin or continue Ablaze! education in conjunction with or apart from their Fan into Flame appeal may wish to use the "Ablaze! Sharing the Faith" DVD available from LCMS World Mission.
The most anticipated and asked about resource is the new "Ablaze! Sharing the Faith" DVD, the latest from LCMS World Mission. This free DVD includes:
* 25 "Ablaze! Sharing the Faith Moments." Individuals from across the Synod share their personal experiences of sharing their faith.
* Ablaze! Update 2007
* Faith Sharing Tools for Individuals, a 10-minute personal evangelism "training" provided by Rev. Scott Snow, the national director for outreach. Rev. Snow walks you through the process of sharing your faith using a colorful witnessing bracelet and the Gospel of John, as well as providing encouragement for every believer to share their faith with their family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, and community.
Pastors and Bible study leaders have been using this resource to show one or two faith-sharing moments a week to help educate their members about Ablaze! and to equip them to share their faith as they go about their lives.
Those who are interested in obtaining this free DVD can download it or order it from http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=9024 (www.lcms.org/Ablaze! Movement/Resources/DVD & Videos).
Back to top
SEMINARIES TO OFFER GREEK CLASSES ONLINE
Fort Wayne
Biblical Greek will be offered online by Concordia Theological Seminary beginning this fall. The online version of Greek will allow students to study according to their schedule. "If they want to study Biblical Greek at midnight, or early in the morning, or during their lunch breaks-whatever fits into their schedule-they can do so in this program," commented Dr. Douglas Rutt, Dean for Distance Learning. The objective of offering Greek online is so that students can begin the process of their seminary education before actually moving to Fort Wayne.
Dr. John Nordling, Associate Professor of Exegetical Theology, will be the teacher. The course will begin with the regular academic year on September 8, 2008, and continue for three quarters, ending May 22, 2009. It will be taught online using Concordia Theological Seminary's learning management system and interactive multimedia learning objects as well as more traditional means of instruction. "Greek lends itself well to new ways of teaching online," says Rev. William Johnson, educational technologist at the seminary. "Because we're able to offer it over the course of three quarters, we can also slow down the pace and make it easier for the student to keep up." It will mirror the Biblical Greek course on campus and meet Greek language requirements for study at the seminary.
To see more about the course and view a sample lesson go to http://www.ctsfw.edu/greekdemo. For more information contact Rev. William Johnson at 260-452-3202 or william.johnson at ctsfw.edu. To inquire about registering for the course contact Mrs. Barbara Wegman at 260-452-2153 or by e-mail at registrar at ctsfw.edu.
St. Louis
Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, announces live web-based Saturday Greek instruction for those contemplating Seminary enrollment, laity (men and women) who wish to gain a valuable tool for Bible study, and pastors who wish to sharpen their Greek skills. Classes will begin Sept. 20 and will run from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Central Time. Financial assistance is available.
"Based on the success of Saturday Greek instruction during its first eight years, we are very excited about using technology to expand its availability beyond the St. Louis region for the coming year," commented instructor Eric Stancliff. "Many who are contemplating Seminary enrollment perceive Greek to be a significant obstacle. These web-based classes will allow people across the country, and perhaps even beyond, the opportunity to master New Testament Greek without leaving their current employment. We also hope that many who are not contemplating Seminary enrollment, but simply wish to learn Greek for the benefit it will offer them in Bible study, will participate. We even encourage pastors to enroll in order to improve their Greek skills."
To be eligible, students must have completed 48 semester hours of college/university coursework from accredited colleges or universities. A broadband Internet connection is required, along with headphones and a microphone. Classes will generally follow the schedule for the Seminary's academic year, with breaks at holidays and between academic quarters. Enrollment is limited, and students must pre-register prior to Sept. 5.
For more information and a pre-registration form, contact the Registrar's Office, Concordia Seminary, 801 Seminary Place, St. Louis, MO 63105; (314) 505-7107; registrar at csl.edu<mailto:registrar at csl.edu>.
Back to top
IN THE NEWS: SAVING THE GIFT OF SIGHT
"Our Redeemer Lutheran Church hosting picnic to raise money for surgery
Luis Valverde, 56, hasn't seen his family in eight years and eight months. His family - wife Maria, their four children and his 96-year-old mother - live in Costa Rica.
Without surgery to correct the bleeding into his eyes, he will never see them again."
This is the beginning of an article that was printed July 19 in the North Platte Telegraph about how Our Redeemer, North Platte, hosted a picnic to raise donations to go towards the $3,000 hospital bill and transportation costs for Luis to travel to Omaha for eye surgery needed because of the loss of sight due to complications from diabetes.
The surgeon in Omaha agreed to waive his fee for the needed surgery, which was scheduled for July 30. The money raised will pay Luis' costs to stay in the hospital.
The church became aware of Luis and his needs because he attends the services and Bible study at Our Redeemer officiated by Pastor Joel Hormachea, pastor at La Trinidad, Lexington. One member of Our Redeemer noted, "The picnic is a chance for our congregation to meet theirs. We all worship in the same building."
We thank God for this example of His children reaching out to help a brother in need.
Back to top
A FAN INTO FLAME FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION
Yes, we want to be a part of Fan into Flame! How do we get started?
There are a number of people in the Nebraska District ready to help your congregation start the planning process. Pastors and lay members have volunteered to serve congregations as Circuit Coordinators. These volunteers are in your community or in a neighboring town and have the resources and information you need to get started. To find the name and contact information of the Circuit Coordinator in your area, visit the Nebraska District website at www.ndlcms.org<http://www.ndlcms.org/> and click on the Fan into Flame link. There you will also find links to many other useful resources you may print and copy to distribute in your congregation to raise awareness and excitement. You may also contact Andrea Essling or Nichole Hetz at the District Office for information on how to get started. President Sommerfeld's August Fan into Flame letter, which will be mailed out this week, also includes a step-by-step process to get congregations started.
Congregations that wish to participate in Fan into Flame are strongly encouraged to contact Andrea at the District Office at 888-643-2961 or andrea.essling at lcms.org<mailto:andrea.essling at lcms.org> to let her know the congregation's plan for participation, the timing of the appeal, and the pledge goal.
Back to top
HEART FOR HONDURAS MEDICAL MISSION OPPORTUNITY
The next Heart for Honduras mission trip is to the Copan area of Honduras October 2-9, 2008. Check for further information at www.heartforhonduras.org<http://www.heartforhonduras.org> or call Tom Gloyer at 281-351-6216. Heart for Honduras is based at Salem Lutheran Church, Tomball, Texas. They have managed medical mission trips to Honduras for a number of years. If you have any additional questions, please contact Lutherans in Medical Missions at limm at limm.org<mailto:limm at limm.org>.
Back to top
LUTHERAN CHOIR IN LINCOLN TO BEGIN REHEARSALS
Lincoln Lutheran Choir invites interested musicians to join them as they begin their fall concert season. Rehearsals begin August 24 with a retreat at Good Shepherd, Lincoln, from 2 to 6 p.m. Interested singers should contact Josh Norris, Director, at 402-613-6115 or email: norris at bigred.unl.edu<mailto:norris at bigred.unl.edu>. The fall concert date is set for November 23.
Back to top
REV. JAMES FANDREY NAMED NEW LUTHERAN HERITAGE FOUNDATION DIRECTOR
(From The Reporter Online - http://www.lcms.org/pages/reporter.asp?NavID=2155)
Rev. James E. Fandrey has accepted the call to become executive director of the Lutheran Heritage Foundation (LHF) of Macomb, Mich., beginning January 1.
In that position, Fandrey, 57, will succeed Rev. Robert H. Rahn, 72, who in late 1992 founded the Synod Recognized Service Organization dedicated to translating and publishing Lutheran materials worldwide.
Fandrey has been LHF's director of development and church relations since December 2006.
"I'm excited, yet humbled, to lead this organization as the Holy Spirit works through LHF books to explain His Word to people everywhere, in a language they can understand," Fandrey said.
A 1980 graduate of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Fandrey at various times served four pastorates in Nebraska, Minnesota, and Illinois. He was a circuit counselor in two of those locations, and first vice president of the LCMS Nebraska District from 1994 to 1997. He served a six-year term (2001-07) on the Synod Board of Directors, for which he was vice chairman.
"Part of a pastor's job is to determine how best to teach his people the truths of God's Word and what materials to use," Fandrey said. "Another part is finding the best ways to reach out to unchurched people in our community. LHF's mission of translating and publishing Lutheran materials for the church around the world is very similar, only on a global scale."
Fandrey also said that LHF's work to determine which materials to translate and publish in different languages for various Lutheran bodies "complements mission endeavors around the world."
For more information about LHF -- including its mission and a list of books and materials it has published -- visit www.lhfmissions.org<http://www.lhfmissions.org>.
Back to top
LUTHERAN HOUR MINISTRIES OFFERS UPCOMING TOURS OF ASIA AND LATIN AMERICA
Lutheran Hour Ministries is now accepting reservations for its 2008/2009 ministry tours to Asia and Latin America. The tours offer attendees an opportunity to get a firsthand look at LHM ministry in action and learn about the many outreach ministry highlights in the host countries.
The Asia tour will take place November 2-15, 2008, and will include visits to Thailand and Vietnam. The Latin America tour is scheduled for February 5-14, 2009, and includes stops in Nicaragua and Panama.
"We have the privilege of offering you, your family, and/or your congregation a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the beauty that God has created, its many wonders, rich heritage, and beautiful culture through LHM ministry tours," says the Rev. Dr. Walt Winters, LHM's International Ministries Division Director.
The tours are managed by professional tour agencies that have expertise in the regions being toured. Tour leaders include LHM staff or board members who know the countries, the sights, and the ministries of the specific country you are visiting.
"I feel truly blessed to have had the opportunity to tour China and Hong Kong with Lutheran Hour Ministries," says Bert Favre, who took part in an LHM tour in 2006. "This marvelous trip gave me an education about China. Besides this, I met thirty-nine people who became new friends and one family in Christ."
A brochure, bulletin insert, and PowerPoint presentation with more information about the trips are available at www.lhm.org/tours<http://www.lhm.org/tours>. The website also includes trip itineraries, costs, payment schedule, and registration forms. You may also call 1-800-752-9636, ext. 4168 or send an e-mail to tours at lhmint.org<mailto:%20tours at lhmint.org> if you have additional questions about the tours.
Back to top
Blessings,
Nichole Hetz
Nebraska District LCMS
Director of Communications
1-888-643-2961
nicholeh at ndlcms.org<mailto:nicholeh at ndlcms.org>
www.ndlcms.org<http://www.ndlcms.org/>
* Please Note: The inclusion of items in the Update from outside sources is for informational purposes only. Inclusion of such items does not constitute District endorsement.
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: text/html
Size: 49596 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://lists.ndlcms.org/pipermail/distupd/attachments/20080813/76c34d63/attachment.txt
More information about the DistUpd
mailing list