"The Christians," a play about faith in America, will be presented by Theatre Roanoke at Antrim Chapel on the  Roanoke College campus Jan. 18-19, at 7:30 p.m. The staged reading, co-Sponsored by College Chaplain Chris Bowen, will have talkbacks by local pastors.

            Among other events at the college in the new year will be a multimedia presentation of "Quartet for the End of Time," in the "Reflections on Eternity" concert series" by the Kandinsky Trio on Saturday, Jan. 19, at 7:30 p.m. at Olin Theater.

            On Monday, Jan. 19, Martin Luther King Day, Dr. Brad Braxton, director for the study of African American Religious Life and supervisory curator of religion at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, will speak at 7:30 in the college's Wortman Ballroom.

            A lecture on "Human Exploration from Earth to Mars: Becoming Interplanetary,"

will be given Thursday, Jan. 24, at 7:30 pm.m. at Antrim Chapel by Dr. Dava Newman, Apollo Program professor of aeronautics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

            307 is the number of mass shootings in the United States this year. We mourn for those who died and pray for the injured, the families and all affected by the violence. Our hearts ache with our siblings in faith who gather for worship (Pennsylvania), exercise (Florida) and cheer for their favorite college teams (California). In the midst of our fear and sadness, we also wonder about our own safety when we gather with others at worship, work or play.

            Our Council and Executive Committee have explored matters related to active shooter situations. We encourage everyone to be mindful of where exits are in the buildings you occupy. Run. Hide. Fight is the refrain for the best practice that comes from experts in the area of safety.

            He is single-minded. He keeps his eye on the prize. The prize for Wilfred Thomas Erro is a college education.

            When I first met Wilfred, he was around 12 or 13. He lived with his grandmother and younger siblings in a remote village. Their one room house was constructed of sticks and mud for walls, a leaky thatch roof, and a dirt floor. No electricity, water, or sanitation.

            Because hyenas often prowl nearby at night, it was Wilfred's job to bring the few animals they owned into their small house overnight, a cow, a few goats and a half-dozen chickens. These were Wilfred's "housemates" as he tried his best to do his homework by the light of a smoky kerosene lantern, or by candles if they couldn't afford the kerosene. He did the necessary clean-up in the mornings as well. Another of our African students visiting with us said, "I didn't know such terrible conditions exit even in my own country!"

            Having just completed primary school, Wilfred was walking three miles a day to the nearest secondary school. Like so many schools in Tanzania, it was overcrowded and under resourced. T here were not enough teachers, desks, or textbooks. Because this was not a school for anyone who wanted to complete his college education, Wilfred jumped at the chance when we were able to offer him a scholarship to a residential secondary school.

	Wilfred with his American sponsor,

            Wilfred is now in Form 6-A Level (equivalent to our first year of college). He will begin college next year and has yet to decide what his major will be. Whatever it is, we have no doubt he will keep his eye on that "prize" with the same commitment, determination, and enthusiasm he has shown so far.

            Yes, indeed, we are proud of you  Wilfred!

G odparents for Tanzania is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that provides scholarships to promising students in northern Tanzania. For more information including annual Safaris to Tanzania, please visit www.godparents4tz.org .

        

The Wilsons

    ( Sarah Hinlicky Wilson, her husband, Andrew Wilson, and son, Zeke, reported on their work in Japan in a letter to First English, Richmond, a sponsor. Here are excerpts from the letter.)

            The Wilsons have been in Japan for just about three months now, and it's hard to pack in all that has happened. We've lived through our six or seven typhoons and our first (very modest) earthquake. We've learned how to navigate Shinjuku, the busiest train station on the planet, and squeeze into extremely packed train cars.

         We've managed to grocery shop despite near-total illiteracy and have fallen in love with onigiri, rice balls filled with sour plums or tuna and wrapped in seaweed, which cost all of fifty cents at our local store. There have been many trips to Ikea-and its local equivalents-and we've emptied out countless cardboard boxes, and (best of all) our books are now on the shelves, ready for reading!

             Of course, there is something faintly ridiculous about all the time and effort we've had to put into setting up our new home. The Gospel lesson on Sarah's very first Sunday at Tokyo Lutheran Church was Mark 6, where Jesus sends out his first missionaries: "He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff-no bread, no bag, no money in their belts-but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics."

           We could not possibly have adopted a more opposite strategy! It has served to radically adjust our perspective, however, when the business of moving threatened to overwhelm our consciousness. We are not here for the sake of the house or our comfort or our pleasure. We have been called here to serve, and to serve the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

            The church must be the only organization on earth that hires people for a job when they can't speak the language the job requires! It's an amazing act of trust, and every day we are grateful for it. Andrew started studying Japanese even before we arrived, but now in the immersion situation he has ratcheted up his daily study program. He's even sitting in on religion classes at Japan Lutheran College & Seminary-where we live and eventually he'll teach-and delighted to find that he can already understand a good deal of what's being said... even while being humbled at how far there is to go.  And yet to communicate the gospel, mastery is required, and that's what we're here to do.

           "We were first in this region to do this and our St. Michael's program is providing leadership and paving the way as other sponsors follow," according to Ben Crawford,  a leader of the troop. About 30 adults work with the pack for younger youth, troop for middle youth and crew for older youth. Boy Scouts of America is changing the local program name from Boy Scout Troop to Scout Troop.

            Effective Feb. 1, the national program will be renamed the Scout BSA program with the enrollment of girls, according to Jan Hedge Bahn Troop 158 scoutmaster aid the Blacksburg girls were among the first in the nation to enroll. In a few years, the Blacksburg girls will be among the first to participate in the prestigious Eagle scout program.

            In this "significant outreach program," Bohn has been scoutmaster since the troop began 13 years ago. He holds weekly Scout meetings and has outdoor weekend outings every month. Every summer, the Scouts enjoy a week or longer at the 16,000-acre Scout reservation in Pulaski County. Hedge has seen that all adult leaders have youth protection training. Mike Christie, assistant scoutmaster, has led six scouts in the troop to Eagle rank. The congregation has supported the outreach youth program, Crawford said.

       

Beaver (left) with Seastrunk

    On Sunday, November 18, Redeemer Lutheran Church in Pearisburg gathered in worship to give thanks for nearly 60 years of ministry and to celebrate their final service as a congregation. The service, which was attended by its founding pastor, the Rev. Charles Seastrunk, and by many former members and friends, provided an opportunity to give thanks to God for Redeemer's presence in the community and to acknowledge all those who shared their gifts to make the ministry of Pearisburg possible. The worship service was followed by a meal provided by the congregation.

            After making the decision to close, the Congregation Council developed a Legacy Plan with the assistance of the Virginia Synod. A Legacy Plan provides an opportunity for the congregation to end well and to give birth to new opportunities for ministry.

            As a part of Redeemer's Legacy Plan, the Bell Tower from the congregation will be moved to Our Saviour Lutheran Church in Christiansburg, items like hymnals and furnishings will be donated to other ministries and the Redeemer Lutheran Church Scholarship will be established at the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary (LTSS). Historical records from the congregation will be donated to the Giles County Historical Society and placed in the James Crumley Archive at the Seminary. The building will be offered for sale and the proceeds will go to the scholarship fund.

           Pastor Buddy Beaver, vice pastor of the congregation, presided and Pastor John Wertz, Director of Evangelical Mission and Assistant to the Bishop, preached the sermon.                                                                                                                     

             Muhlenberg, a pioneer pastor in the Shenandoah Valley, served at Emmanuel, Woodstock. A stained glass window in Muhlenberg Church depicts the legend of his sermon on Jan. 21, 1776, calling the men of his congregation to serve with him in the Revolutionary War.

 

           But we all have foods that when we taste them, we say, "Tastes like Christmas." In recent years, I have had fun exploring and developing traditions that make me say, "Tastes like Epiphany."

             Epiphany is the 13th day after Christmas and is the day when the church celebrates the arrival of the wise men to Jesus. In reality, this journey would have taken more than twelve days. Getting from the far east to Ancient Israel would take a long time! It only lands on a Sunday every seven years or so. 2019 is such a lucky year, so we will be doing it up!

            Here's my short list of foods that taste like Epiphany to me:

            -Any food in the shape of a crown. As some translations call the wise men kings, crowns are one of the primary images associated with Epiphany. Crown shaped pizza, cookies, or candies are all appropriate.

            -Any food in the shape of a star or that has a star in it. Since the kings followed the star to find Jesus, stars are another important image of the holiday. Star shaped foods (again pizza, cookies or candies) or foods that have stars in it (such as an apple sliced horizontally to reveal the seeds) are festive choices!

            -Food that represents gold. While frankincense and myrrh are lovely scents, no one wants to eat them or anything that is like them. However, gold is an easier "flavor" to swallow. Chocolate coins or oranges represent this third gift of the wise men. (A chocolate orange would be the best!)

            -King Cake. This is the most important one of all. King Cakes are connected with Spanish and French Catholicism and can be made in a variety of styles with a variety of tokens baked into them. The most basic of King Cakes have one small baby Jesus baked in. Various "blessings" come along with finding baby Jesus such as the promise of a good year or the joy of getting to bake next year's King Cake. I'm going to bake us a simple King Cake in design but with lots of tokens baked in. We'll share it after worship on January 6th.

            I'm looking forward to celebrating Epiphany together and beginning the season of Epiphany together. We'll have eight weeks to explore the ways that Christ reveals his wisdom, power, glory, and grace to all he encounters.

 

Pastor Colleen Montgomery wrote this column for the newsletter of her congregation,Holy Trinity, Wytheville.