Message
from the President
Dear Friends,
Some of our most inspiring,
real-world role models are not on the cover of magazines at the check-out
counter. They don't wear glittery designer gowns, or even have much
athletic talent. Interestingly, these inspirational people are often in
our very own congregations - or within our staff. In fact, they are you.
We are celebrating our 140th
anniversary this year. But it's more than just a sentimental journey down
memory lane. Rather, it's an opportunity to recall and recommit ourselves
to important life lessons that our church founders put into practice many
years ago.
Our earliest founders, Pastor
Eric Norelius and his congregation, were listening to God's call when they
opened their lives and hearts to four orphaned children whose parents had
died. These giants in our history were not only instrumental in providing
for the well-being, safety and support of their most vulnerable
citizens-but they also left us with an enduring model of service in the
name of Christ.
These early Lutherans knew
that genuine charity doesn't just happen with kind words and thoughts.
Rather, that people of faith must be actively engaged in expressing God's
love in the world.
Here's what I think God's love
in the world looks like:
-
That all kids wake up in a
safe place knowing that they are loved and will have opportunities to
develop their potential.
-
That every person with a
disability can live and work in community to the best of their ability.
-
That frail, elderly neighbors
are not left alone in the final years, but have community, independence,
meaningful lives and dignity.
Today, churches can be
relevant to today's needs and help make this happen, just as Pastor
Norelius' church was years ago.
Incarnation Lutheran in
Shoreview, Minn., is just one example. Last year, this church worked with
LSS to open a first-ever shelter in Minnesota for teen homeless mothers
and their infants in St. Paul. Besides offering a sizable financial
contribution and working as construction volunteers to prepare the home,
members provide hands-on support by cooking Sunday meals and taking these
young families on fun and educational outings.
Through LSS, other church
members are involved in daily connections with isolated elderly and
disabled members by checking on them, bringing meals and inviting real
friendship. While this work doesn't make the morning news or have much
glitz or glamour, it is significant and noteworthy! Of course, it is also
God's call for us.
In this century, I believe
that our churches and their members will recommit themselves to up close
and personal service to the poor and vulnerable in our society. They will
also be instrumental in shaping social policy.
Jim Wallis, and author and
editor of Sojourner's magazine, has some interesting future predictions
along this line for how our biblical teachings will shape what we do as
people of faith. Here are just a few of them:
-
Overcoming poverty will be the
greatest moral issue in the new millennium.
-
Faith will be defined much
more by action than by doctrine.
-
Faith-based organizations will
become critical partners in forging social policy, but will tell
government that they can't solve poverty by themselves.
-
More churches will throw their
arms around at-risk kids, but it won't be enough unless the whole society
puts children first.
-
More and more people will be
asking why we're spending more for cosmetics, pet food and ice cream than
in making a decent and dignified life for the world's poorest people.
-
Hope will be the most
essential ingredient for social change.
The last prediction is an
especially important one. Indifference and cynicism about social problems
in our world will not make them go away or make life better for people on
the margins, or even for us as a society. Every church and each member has
an important role to play in being relevant to today's needs.
Let's not wait for others.
Instead, let's be the inspirational leaders and role models that our
children see.
Mark A. Peterson
President/CEO
