As your pastor, part of my job is to encourage you toward a spiritual  path.  With this in mind, I’m going to provide for you a few tips to help you remember to give God space in your life.

1. Pray and meditate outdoors enjoying nature.

2. Find a partner and pray together.  That could be in person, via phone or the internet.  The idea is to keep in touch.

3. Explore new places of worship.

4. Create a Summer Journal.  Write about your relationship with God during this season.

5. Organize a morning or evening prayer walk.  repeat a simple prayer silently as you walk, “Thank you, God.”

6. Turn an ordinary summer day into your own private spiritual retreat. The day can begin with a morning prayer that offers the entire day to God. The day can include spiritual reading and quiet time for reflection.

7. Select a spiritual book to read (the Bible qualifies).

8. Thank God for the bounty of the farmer’s market, or perhaps your own garden.

There are so many wonderful ways to give God space in your life.  All we need to be is aware and thankful.

“Earth is crammed with heaven, and every common bush afire with God; but only he who sees, takes off his shoes.”

 Elizabeth Barrett Browning

May your summer be fun, restful and filled with God’s blessings.

Peace be with you,

Pastor Nadine

Could you run your household on 45% of your 1986 income? It’s unlikely.

And yet, that is precisely the case for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in

Canada. While offerings to the most local expression of the church –

congregations – have kept pace with the rate of inflation, further

remittances to synods and the national church have dropped dramatically.

We have all, both congregationally and synodically, been holding our

purses close, to the point where our beloved church is greatly diminished

in its capacity to be all that we would want or hope it to be. It needs to

stop.

In March of this year, I sat through a meeting where our national church

leaders were informed that several of its synodical funding partners would

be drastically reducing their offerings in support of an already

diminished budget. In the face of this reality, the National Church

Council was reluctantly put in the position of having to end several

programmes that are vital to maintaining a national denominational

identity.

The National Church Council made major cuts to our global mission program,

cut the planned giving program, and shaved down many other programme

areas. The only reason that worship programming and youth programming were

not cut was because the council passed a deficit budget. But they know

that can’t continue. Although there were no staff cuts in this round of

budget reductions, the staff of the National Office has been reduced by

one third in the past four years. To its credit, the council refused to

pass its cuts along to national and international partners such as Kairos,

the Canadian Council of Churches, the Lutheran World Federation and the

World Council of Churches. I was so proud of our leaders. They cut

themselves, rather than hurt others.

That is why I returned home determined to do what I could to turn the

tide. This past week I have challenged our own Synod Council and our

Conference Deans and Ministry Directors to raise $100,000.00 of Praise

Appeal funding for the ELCIC. Every penny will go to make up for our

negligence in supporting the national and international ministries of our

church; not a penny to the synod. To a person they were enthusiastically

supportive!

We have designated Pentecost Sunday, May 27, 2012, as ELCIC Praise Appeal

Sunday. My challenge to you is to make up for the shortfalls in our ELCIC

budget. We must do it and we can do it! We dare to share because we care!I

am asking every leader in our synod to challenge every member to make

“second mile gifts” to fix this very fixable situation. We have the means

to do so and we know it. What remains to be demonstrated is whether we

have the will to do so, and I think we do.

For the past three years, our synod has increased its annual benevolence

offerings to the ELCIC by 1% of our total income, with a goal of

eventually reaching 25% and beyond. We have a ways to go but are moving up

steadily at a time when other synods have made drastic cuts that are

having a profoundly negative impact on our church’s ability to do the work

we have asked it to do. That means that we need to do better and quicker.

My wife Lois and I will be making a significant gift in support of this

appeal and we challenge you to do likewise. While we would prefer that

your gifts be designated through your congregation, you could also make

them in direct remittance to the synod or via the Donate link at

www.easternsynod.org

Don’t rob Peter to pay Paul by altering your regular gifts in support of

your congregation, church-wide benevolence or to CLWR! We’re talking extra

designated gifts. And if we do it, I am sure that when our National Bishop

Susan joins us in Waterloo in early July, we will be able to report that

we have filled the gap and that the $100,000 shortfall has been made up!

And if it’s not, dear delegates, be sure that I will be passing the hat

for pledges until it is made up! I mean it. Be forewarned!

Helpful resources in making this Pentecost appeal are available on the

ELCIC website www.elcic.ca/praiseappeal . But don’t feel constrained. Do

it however you want. The goal is $100,000 in support of the national and

international ministries of our beloved church and not a penny to the

synod.

We have the means to fix the problem and it will be wonderful to celebrate

our success in July. You can expect to hear from me a few more times

before them. Please don’t let me down. Don’t let our church down

With all Best Wishes,

Michael Pryse

My earliest experiences with the Sabbath were boring.  Sunday was a rest-day on my grand-parents’ small dairy farm.  Other than church and chores we rested – there was no card playing, novel reading, knitting or TV.  The adults seemed content to nap, but I was bored.

Subsequent attempts to ‘honour the Sabbath’ have been equally uninteresting so I was skeptical when I learned that the theme of this year’s ICHM Parish Nurse Retreat was ‘Seeking Sabbath’.   The flyer quoted from a book called Sabbath: finding rest, renewal, and delight in our busy lives.  The author, Wayne Muller, is an ordained minister and student of Henri Nouwen. 

The Rev. Kellie McComb, Minister of Faith Formation and Pastoral Care at First United in Waterloo, explained that the Hebrew word for ‘rested’, ‘vaiynafesh’, literally means “to exhale” and that the creation of the world could be likened to a life-giving inhale with the Sabbath being the exhale.  Only when we exhale, does the inhale become possible.   The 14 parish nurses present knew that to be true.

Then the process of ‘Seeking Sabbath’ began.  We gathered to light a candle on a small altar and to give and receive blessings.  A Sabbath box was passed and we were invited to place in it, things that we did not want to think about for the rest of the weekend.  I gratefully added my long ‘to-do’ list.  There was a time for meditation; for a Sabbath walk – alone and without purpose; for Sabbath prayer – wishing happiness and peace to all; and for enjoyable Sabbath activities – reading, journaling and knitting (yes, knitting).  My favourite was the Sabbath meal where the bounty of the earth was enjoyed.  Food at this meal is not so much for survival as for sheer, savory delight.   Music, flowers, colourful placements and friends all add to the meal’s enjoyment!

The weekend was truly refreshing and by home time on Sunday, I’m happy to report that I had a ‘much improved’ attitude towards Sabbath.

Blessings,

Lynn Franklin

More and more our world is getting to be a place where we are meeting people and learning new things online.  The internet has opened the door to many new and wonderful ideas.  It’s been this way for quite some time now; in reality, it’s been years.  The fact that I’m writing an article like this in 2012 is an indication of how far behind the church really is in connecting online.

Augsburg is doing its best; we have a lovely new website and a Facebook page.  Perhaps if you had a pastor who was more tech savvy than me, Augsburg may also be on Twitter, and who knows how many other social media sites.

The reason I am writing about all this is because I have recently engaged in some online Bible reflections.  During Advent, I went to an online Advent Calendar that had an image to reflect on, a scripture verse and some music, all of which helped me to ponder God and God’s presence. I thought this scheme might be a good thing to share with those of you who are connected all the time.

If you are one who lives through your smart-phone, can you imagine how much more convenient it is to receive daily bible reflections right at your finger tips?   The Canadian Bible Society has created a Lenten devotional that will be sent electronically.  The CBS writes that “Research has shown that the more people engage with God’s word, the more their lives change and so these 46 day devotions help people begin the habit of meeting God daily.” You can sign up for this by going to www.biblesociety.ca/40Days_lent. Alternately, if you have a Facebook account, you can join our own, Toronto based, Lutherans Connect, in the series “Sacred Space in Lent.”

There are so many options for keeping close to God this Lent.  We can’t use the excuse of being too busy, because the Bible can come with us now, wherever we go.

Blessings and peace,

Pastor Nadine