Stramiello

       Stramiello, a graduate of Trinity College and Trinity Lutheran Seminary, interned at  Luther Church of the Palms, Palm Harbor, FL She was a hospice chaplain and served as family faith formation director at Cross and Crown Lutheran in Indianapolis, IN., and as pastor of St. Matthew Lutheran in Paducah , KY. She helped organize two non-profit organizations. Her husband is John Stramiello.

   

Lowden

         Lowden, a Waynesboro native, will be returning to Virginia, She is a graduate of James Madison University and Gettysburg Seminary and earned a master's in studies in aging from the College of Notre Dame in Baltimore. She served at Lutheran Church of the Living Word, Columbia, MD, as campus pastor at the University of Maryland Baltimore County campus; Christ Lutheran, Pasadena, MD., at Diakon Lutheran Social Ministries , Baltimore, and with her husband, Pastor Bob Lowden, as ELCA representatives in Tanzania and Rwanda. She then served at Zion , Landisville, PA.

            Dr. Paul Hinlicky, professor of Lutheran Studies at Roanoke College, has been invited to lead a seminar for the International Congress on Luther Research to be held at California Lutheran University on Aug. 14-22, 2022. The topic will be "Luther and Trinity in Postmodern Theology." Hinlicky said he will be fully retired for a year then so he will be able to perform this "capstone venture of my theological career." He said his "twin theological passions are captured in the topic: the era of Christendom in the West is irretrievably past but from the ashes emerges a fresh perception of the Trinity as the God of the gospel."

            Pastor Michael Weaver has come from North Carolina to serve as interim pastor at Ascension, Danville. He has not retired, as was previously reported.

            Pastor Monica Weber, Luther Memorial, Blacksburg, is a member of the Virginia Values Coalition, an organization of 140 faith communities in the state dedicated to advocating for the end of discrimination against LGBTQIA+ persons. She signed a petition expressing the need for new protective legislation in the General Assembly.     

            At St. Luke, Richmond, Sarah Mills is the new program coordinator. She follows Becky Wade, who has gone back to school.            

            The Roanoke Valley Preservation Foundation named its preservation recognition as the Kegley Preservation Awards for George Kegley, St. Mark.s Roanoke.

Mt. Tabor, Augusta County, has been selected to receive the 2019 Best of Staunton Award for Places of Worship.

            Heather Macdonald. St, Stephen, Williamsburg, a chancellor professor in the College of William and Mary Geology Department, was recognized by the Geological Society of America for her contributions to earth science education at two-year colleges.  St Stephen is among the congregations using the reverse Advent calendar which starts with an empty box. One item is added on each of the 24 days of Advent. When the box is full, the items will be donated to a food pantry.

            A Holiday Brass Concert will be sponsored by Luther Memorial, Blacksburg, on Saturday, Dec. 14, at 7 p.m. Those attending have been asked to bring a non-perishable food item to donate to the Blacksburg Interfaith Food Pantry.

            Bethel, Winchester, has joined the Foster Friends Coalition, a group of about 20 local churches who provide support to foster parents and families. By meeting practical, emotional and spiritual needs, they work to create a culture of caring for the community to end the current foster care crisis.

            First English, Richmond, provided shoe boxes filled with gifts for children at a Community Thanksgiving Feast organized by the Giving Heart, a volunteer organization that focuses on providing food, fellowship and essential items for those in need.

            St. Philip, Roanoke, provided food at Feeding America's Community Solutions Center and helped provide 360 Elijah's Backpacks of snacks for school children over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

            Volunteers at St. Mark's, Roanoke, continued a long tradition of distributing 50 bags of food to clients of Roanoke Social Services. Another 50 will be distributed at Christmas and Easter.

Ray Ratke, chief executive officer of Lutheran Family Services, received the 2019 Leadership Award from the Virginia Network of Private Providers at the annual conference in Richmond. In accepting the award, Ratke said, "With all the frustration and disappointments of trying to do this work, we still get to go home at the end of the day and feel we're doing the work of making a difference in people's lives."

The organization works with people with intellectual or developmental disabilities, substance abuse problems or mental illness. Its members are organizations licensed by or working with state agencies.

Goeres

LFS also reported the 15 members of its board will be led in 2020 by Pastor Richard Goeres of First Lutheran Norfolk, as chair. He follows Frederick G. Kraegel of Henrico, outgoing chair, who will serve as treasurer next year.

Other board members: Bishop Bob Humphrey; Lisa Alderman, Wytheville; Robert Burger, Glen Allen; Pastor Debra Dukes, New Market; Dr. Wanda Fisher, Richmond; Pastor Lou Florio, Fredericksburg; Dr. Judith Greene, Poquoson; Kathy Kanter, Middletown; Helen Keck, Ceres; George Marget III, Midlothian; Stephen James Sikkema, Bedford; Chauncey Strong, Alexandria, and Bruce Swanson, Roanoke.

The Virginia Synod Council has announced the recipients of the 2019 Virginia Synod Fund for Mission Grants.  This year, eight grant applications totaling $133,061 were received for consideration.

 Each of the grants represented a congregation's vision for a new expression of ministry that would share the good news about Jesus with the wider community.  While each of the applications provided an exciting opportunity, the following five ministries will receive a portion of the $30,000 in available grant funding for this year.

            Trinity Ecumenical Parish will receive $5,000 to support the development of an intentional caring community in specific geographic locations in the community.

            College Lutheran, Salem will receive $1,500 to support the expansion of a student food pantry.

            Peace Lutheran, Charlottesville will receive $7,000 to support 'Building Peace' which will build connections with the neighborhoods around the congregation.

            Our Saviour, Warrenton will receive $6,500 to create a volunteer management ministry to help connect and serve the greater community and create opportunities to share the story of Jesus through service in the world.

            PALS (Presbyterian and Lutheran Services) Church, Bealton will receive $10,000 to help create an ecumenical, not-for-profit coffee shop to provide a welcoming environment to promote community and share God's love.

It took a while for us as Lutheran Christians to make our way into America's mainstream churches. A major reason for this is quite simple: we didn't speak English. Our ancestors were immigrants from Europe, mainly Germany and the Scandinavian countries - Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland. The Episcopalians, Methodists, and Baptists from England, and the Presbyterians from Scotland, didn't experience that barrier.

Now in my 80's, I remember my childhood in a Danish Lutheran congregation in Los Angeles. It was a kind of ghetto experience, with most all of our members being Danish immigrants or of Danish extraction. My father, who was the pastor, would conduct worship services in Danish as well as English. There was also a pervasive Danish nostalgia, and a strong pietistic spirit that was rooted in Denmark's pietistic movement. The name of our national church was United Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church, headquartered in the little Nebraska town of Blair.

It wasn't until the post-World War II years that the word "Danish" was dropped.

Given this background, it's not surprising that we were unable as a national church to address the cultural and political issues of the day. Speaking a prophetic word to our society was beyond our horizons. The editor of our national church paper, The Ansgar Lutheran, managed to comment on just two issues during the first half of the twentieth century: the candidacy of the Roman Catholic Al Smith for President (thumbs down), and Prohibition (thumbs up).

It wasn't until the 1950's and '60's, with the Civil Rights movement, that we Lutherans began to take seriously the church's responsibility to address the issues of the day. Of course, with the passing of generations has come the inevitable Americanizing of our church, with greater capacity and confidence in addressing issues of social justice.

Thus today, as a much larger church following several mergers, the ELCA is able and equipped to speak with a more influential voice when it comes to the public square. But the evolution has not been automatic. There's no longer the language barrier, but other obstacles of a cultural type can get in the way. For example, we all know how emotionally charged such issues as race and white privilege, abortion, homosexuality and gun control legislation can be. Because they are potentially divisive, we are tempted to avoid them altogether, even in the Sunday classroom. With a shrug we repeat the old adage, "Religion and politics don't mix," and are content to leave it at that.

My point is that our theological convictions carry ethical imperatives which compel the church to get involved in the life of the larger society. Recognizing this fact, the ELCA has affirmed that it is not just a worshiping community, but also "a center of moral deliberation." Our church has published materials designed to help us fulfill that affirmation. At the core of every social issue is a clash of values which requires analysis and discernment. The church is equipped to carry out that task, lifting up the imperative of compassion and the quest for justice and mercy in all of life's relationships.

That conviction quite naturally moved the ELCA assembly last August in Milwaukee to protest the treatment of migrants at our southern border and to offer sanctuary to defenseless, suffering people. It's a turbulent, threatening time in which we live, a time for people of faith to stand up in protest against those economic and political forces that divide and weaken our nation.

We Lutherans now have a voice that can be heard; let it ring loud and clear on behalf of justice and peace throughout the world.  

 

The Rev. Paul Jersild, retired professor at Southern Seminary, is a member of First

Lutheran, Norfolk.

            Specific actions have not been planned but these ideas were suggested at a meeting of the congregation's Social Ministry Team: Planting a community garden with clients bringing produce to the church kitchen for a community meal; a church member and a client may sit down for dinner, share stories and get to know one another; an avid reader, artist, knitter, fisherman, coffee drinker or animal lover may share time with a Micah client around a common interest leading to friendship and serving together.

            According to the church announcement, Micah and the ELCA "affirm that it is in relationships with neighbors that we meet Christ and that Christ meets us." As a staff person is employed, adult forums and conversations are expected to lead toward relationships with neighbors.

            Micah Ministries was organized by Christ Lutheran and eight other congregations who work to cultivate community and care for neighbors. They work on housing, providing meals every day and reducing repeat hospitalization by providing post-hospital respite. Christ members host a community meal every Wednesday night, offer rides and help at a new Community Café , a pay-what-you-can restaurant providing job training for clients.

            Pastor Anne Jones Martin said she likes to think of Micah "as a key bridge in the city of Fredericksburg that connects congregations of different denominations, neighbors of different political and social-economic backgrounds, ethnicities and ages to care for neighbor and cultivate community...Micah's ministries care about the neighbor \you are serving."

Recently, George Kegley asked me to share my thoughts about the apology, the Declaration of the ELCA to People of African Descent, that was presented and accepted at the Churchwide Assembly in August 2019.

            In this apology, the ELCA recognizes and takes responsibility for this Body of Christ's lack of fulfillment of its baptismal promises in not following the example of Jesus to strive for justice for all people (my interpretation).

            It is good to confess, and it is good to receive forgiveness, but it is even better to begin to take the action steps that are needed toward full inclusion and equity for all.

            When George asked me for my response, I must admit that I said, "Why me?" Oh, yeah, I was the "rostered person of color representative elected by the Virginia Synod".  

            An article that I thought would be an easy task to write, has turned into an introspective look at not only my role as an ordained pastor in a predominately white denomination, but an honest and realistic look at what may be my own Synod's struggle as well.

            I became a Lutheran in 2006, affirming my baptism at Reformation Lutheran Church, Newport News. Until that time, I was a tried and true Southern Baptist. But in 2006, discerning a different path for my life which would include pastoral ministry, I left the Southern Baptist Convention in search of a more inclusive faith group. I was looking for diversity, and the opportunity to share my gifting as an African American female, giftings which were often not appreciated because of my gender and skin color. I set out to find a place I could call home. And that place was the ELCA.

I did not know at the time, but the ELCA was having its own challenges with inclusion. But in my opinion, the difference was, the ELCA was trying to be better and do better, which brings us to the Declaration.

           I was excited to be elected to be one of our Synod's representatives at our Churchwide Assembly. I enjoyed the worship and seeing how we as Lutherans take care of the business of the Church. I especially enjoyed being around other Lutherans of color and sharing our varied experiences.

            I have to admit I wasn't aware of the Declaration before it was presented at the Assembly. I researched the origins of the Declaration. The African Descent Lutheran Association in 2015 called upon the 2016 Churchwide Assembly to "draft a formal letter of repentance" for the Church's past complicity in slavery and its present struggle with racism. This apology was offered and accepted by the African Descent Lutheran Association at this summer's Assembly. As I understand it, the request had its basis in the1993 social statement on Freed in Christ: Race, Ethnicity and Culture.

            So, we (African Descent Lutherans) received an apology that we had to ask for? Does that mean that no apology would have ever been given? Did we not recognize or were we not aware that processes (e.g., call process, compensation) were not equitable for all within our denomination? A look at comparative statistics within our denomination would have easily shown us that all was not well.

            Romans 15:7 (Voice) says, " So accept one another in the same way the Anointed has accepted you so that God will get the praise He is due."

To me, The Declaration has come to mean that my denomination is moving from just being welcoming, toward being intentional in offering respect, acceptance and opportunity. I feel that the varied expressions of bishops that were elected this year clearly speaks of new levels of respect, acceptance and opportunity.  

            The Declaration, hopefully, is the first step toward many more steps, where my denomination makes "a recommitment to the process of right and equitable relations with this church" for all of us.

 

            Rev. Dr. Phyllis Milton is senior pastor and head of staff at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church and School, Hampton.

The "biggest issue" in the upcoming Virginia General Assembly is to require all state businesses to provide workers at least five paid sick days a year, a lobbyist for a social justice group told an interfaith gathering in Roanoke.

"One point two million workers in Virginia have zero paid time off," said Ben Hoyne, policy director for the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy. Among those hardest hit, he said, are workers in day care, home health, and restaurants.

Employers lose $160 billion annually in productivity when employees show up for work despite illness or injury, Hoyne noted. Providing paid sick days reduces turnover and saves businesses money, he said. More than half of all Norovirus outbreaks can be traced to sick food service workers who were forced to choose between working sick and losing pay or their job, he added.

The Interfaith Center is backing legislation to create a paid sick day standard mandating that all employers with six or more employees provide five paid sick days (40 hours) each year to full-time workers. The hours could be used for themselves or to care for sick children. Part-time employees would accrue fewer paid sick hours based on hours worked.

Hoyne spoke on November 19 to a regional gathering of faith organizations interested in the Interfaith Center's legislative priorities. Delegate Sam Rasoul (D-Roanoke) and Senator John Edwards (D-Roanoke) addressed the gathering. Both supported the paid sick days initiative.

Rasoul and Edwards also backed another proposal high on the Interfaith Center's legislative agenda: providing driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants. An estimated 272,000 people live in Virginia who are currently undocumented. Many of these people end up driving without a license, which means they are driving without insurance and flee the scene of accidents because of fear of police, according to an Interfaith Center background document.

Both legislators predicted the General Assembly would take significant action on gun control. Edwards said he was interested in bills to that would reign in high prescription drug prices, expand the use of solar energy, and restore the rights of felons who had served their time.

Other legislative priorities for the Interfaith Center discussed at the gathering include:

 

(Hite is a member of Central Church of the Brethren)

            The conferences on Effective Practices for Innovative Congregations are designed to strengthen congregational leaders for their ministry in the congregation and the world, according to Pastor John Wertz Jr., synod director of evangelical mission.

            Among the possible workshop topics council presidents, vice presidents and financial officers, introduction to Tapestry 101, growing younger, creating a good digital first impression, opening giving doors, congregational vitality and ministry with older adults. Participants may register by visiting vasynod.org/epic.