The Annual Summer Gathering for retired rostered leaders, their spouses and widows is set for Aug. 10-12 at the Blue Gentian Lodge, Londonderry, Vt. For a registration form and more information, click here. If this link doesn't work, please email office@nesynod.org, and we will mail you a copy. The Rev. Don and Phyllis Helfrich will guide conversation on this year's books - "Les Miserables" by Victor Hugo and "Hot, Flat and Crowded" by Thomas Friedman. Other activities will include worship at Weston Priory and a local playhouse production. Still have questions? Contact the Rev. Paul Alberti at pgadga@gmail.com.

A program, "What Is Missional Church?" will be held Tuesday, Sept. 27, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church, Vernon, Conn., for theologians and rostered leaders, sponsored by the New England Lutheran Theological Forum. The group seeks to stimulate and support excellence and faithfulness in ministry, especially on the theological level. Check out its blog for articles by Pr. Kari Henkelmann Keyl, "Mission, Passion, and Latin Roots," and Dr. James Nieman, "Context." For more information, contact Pr. James Debner, Zion Lutheran Church, Southington, Conn., at 203-368-3103 or pastor@zionlutheranct.org. Registration is $25.

  

 to go where love leads

 to serve where love calls

 

 

Doing What Matters" in Waltham, Mass.

Part Two: Why Does God Need a Church?

 

Last week, we looked at First Lutheran, Waltham's experience of "speed dating with the Bible." So, what did Pastor Tom Maehl do for an encore the following Sunday? Again, the first and second lessons, along with the psalm, were replaced with other readings during worship. The first of these "Doing What Matters" readings was from Acts 2: 42-47, and had to do with the formation of a community. Giving his congregation one minute for silent reflection, Pastor Maehl asked them to ponder this question, "Why does God need a church?" 

 

The reading from Acts was followed by two more -- from Peter 2:2-10 and the Augsburg Confession, Articles 4 and 5. At the end of these three selections, which also were printed on the bulletin insert, the Rev. Maehl stood before the congregants with a flip chart and markers. He asked the members to share something of their reflections, and invited them to use post-it notes on the walls, as well. They closed the exercise by singing, "You Are Holy" (ELW 525), followed by the Gospel reading. "The Easter Gospel that Sunday fit very well with what we were doing, " Tom said. "You have the story of Jesus on the road to Emmaus, revealed in the breaking of the bread. There was a children's sermon, a brief homily, and then the rest of the service continued as usual." Repeating the process of the previous week, comments were compiled on a single sheet and emailed to the congregation.  

 

Continuing the Conversation

Part Three: Where Is God Calling Us to Focus?

Like the first disciples as they formed their own community of faith, the parishioners of First Lutheran Church, Waltham, Mass., had been engaged in discovering what it means to be "church" together. The culmination of this exciting process centered on a reading from Acts 20: 13-38, which the congregants were invited to read on their own. Members were given paper and pencils to write down the three or four actions in the reading that most resonated for them ... and which they thought their church should be most focused on. After sharing their lists with a few others, communal lists were written on index cards and passed to the center aisle for collection. 

 

On this particular Sunday, worship was followed by a "working" luncheon. People sat at tables for eight, and each group received a packet with three compiled sheets from the three "Doing What Matters" worship services. At each table, two or three people focused on ONE of the three key questions: "What in the world is God up to?" "Why does God need a church?" "Where is God calling us to focus?" Afterwards, these subgroups addressed the question, "Given what you read and experienced, what is God saying to us?" Brief, recurring themes were collected on index cards -- one theme per card -- and these in turn became guiding principles for First Lutheran. Once again, these guiding principles were compiled onto a single sheet and emailed during the week to the congregation. The process went so smoothly, that it almost makes you wonder what could have been accomplished in Corinth if the first disciples had been using our synod's "Doing What Matters" mission strategy ... not to mention flip charts, post-it notes and email!