To be reborn, we must die

Obviously my best made plans have not come to fruition. I have not posted faithfully to this blog, so within the week I am going to let it die. Hopefully I will start another blog sometime soon. Blessings to you all!

Diaconal Ministry

I have been blessed because I have just been called to Trinity Lutheran Church as a Diaconal Minister. Thing is, not many know what a Diaconal Minister is. Well, it is a rostered position in the ELCA and it is a ministry of Word and Service. You can learn more about it on the Diaconal Community web site.

LWF Youth Blog

My oldest son, Ray, just started his journey to ordained ministry at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. For the past three years or so, he has travelled more than anyone I know - this is the reason I have the blog listed to the right "Where in the World is Ray?" First, he lived for a year in Buenos Aires, Argentina while he was a part of the ELCA's Young Adult Global Mission program. But since then he has travelled all over South America, Africa, and Eastern Europe. Most of the time he connects with volunteer agencies.

The point of this post, however, is to let you know that there is a Lutheran World Federation Youth Blog. Occasionally Ray posts on it, but many others do too. It is where "Young adults from around the world write about youth ministry and events, about their life, faith and justice." As one who has no bias :) I hope you will drop by someday and read a little of the blog.

Changing A Little

I am ashamed - ashamed because I haven't kept up posting on this blog. So, I've decided to change the "atmosphere" of Faith Outstretched a little and, instead of strictly talking about resources and ministry opportunities, I plan to make it a little more personal. Hopefully that will spur me on to keep up the posts! To anyone who continues to read this blog even though it has lapsed, thank you!

Two October Emphases

On the homepage of the ELCA website I found two articles about possible emphases in October - one on Candle Lighting for Mental Illness and one on celebrating 60 years of the Lutheran World Federation. Both provide resources for congregations to use.

Jesus, Justice, Jazz

It has only been a year since the last national youth gathering in San Antonio, TX, but preparations are already being made for the next one! It was announced that the ELCA National Youth Gathering in 2009 will be in New Orleans, LA from July 22-26. You can get more details about it at the ELCA Youth Website. It's never too late to start making preparations!

Churchwide Assembly

Preparations are being made for the Churchwide Assembly August 6-11. Webcasts are scheduled throughout the event. Among other things, there will be a celebration of the 20th anniversary of the ELCA. Go to the ELCA Churchwide Assembly website for more news.