Global Mission Event

This is the beautiful quilt made by the women of the Mashiah Foundation serving women and children with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria. It was the symbol of the gathering, reflecting the theme, "God's Work, Our Hands."

July Mission Prayers

Global Mission Event in La Crosse, July 17-20

1) Pray for a Spirit filled time together sharing with people from around the world and safe travels.

2) Pray for the mission offerings featured:
a) US based missions in Bridge of Life, Holmen and Agape Asian Ministry, La Crosse, Wisconsin.
b) ELCA missionary sponsorship program
c) ELCA World Hunger Appeal

Indiana Floods

Pray for those affected by the floods in Indiana. Check with the church office, in the newsletter and weekly notes for ways you can help.

World Vision Prayer "Triggers"

In the recent addition of World Vision News there was a brief article encouraging us to pray throughout the day for mission needs around the world based on these triggers in our daily lives.

1) Bath/shower time: pray for clean water. Nearly 1.1 billion people are without access to clean water.

2) Going to work: pray about child labor. Many children worldwide work for less than $1 a day and 126 million children work in ways that are likely to harm their health, safety or moral development.

3) Meal time: pray for hungry children. Nearly 150 million children are underweight.

4) Reading/listening to news: pray for education. There are 72 million children worldwide not attending primary school.

5) Going home: pray for displaced children. More than 34 million people, mostly women and children, have been forced to leave their homes by violence or disaster.

6) Taking vitamins/medicine: pray for medical access. Every year, nearly 15 times more children die from preventable diseases than Americans who are killed by heart disease, the leading cause of death in the US.

7) Bed time: pray for orphans. There are nearly six times more orphans in the world than there are children under the age of 5 in the US. Orphans in Africa are increasing especially, due to AIDS.

Prayer for Mission and Thanks

A Mission Prayer

Christ has no body now on earth but yours,
no hands but yours, no feet but yours;
yours are the eyes through which is to look out Christ’s compassion to the world,
yours are the feet with which he is to go about doing good,
and yours are the hands with which he is to bless us now.

Saint Teresa of Avila

We are thankful for all those in the St. Thomas community engaging in mission in our own community and beyond!

Global Disaster Response

Pray for all those in the recent global disasters mourning lost love ones, those struggling to live, those in leadership positions and those providing care and relief. The ELCA Disaster Relief website has some additional information and ways to respond to the Myanmar cyclone, the earthquake in China and others:
http://archive.elca.org/disaster/

Mission Interest Groups

The mission committee is considering forming a variety of interest groups surrounding important mission related topics, as a way to encourage broader and deeper participation. You do not need to be a member of the mission committee to join these interest groups. Some of the first potential interest groups being formed are:
1) Sister Parish Interest Group - be involved in discerning the best direction for this relationship with our Sister Parish in Chichipate, Guatemala;
2) Micro Loans Interest Group - help have an impact on poverty by providing direct loans to entrepreneurs around the globe. Consider joining an interest group to discuss and make these investment decisions together, connecting with the entrepreneurs via the internet. To learn more, contact: Chris Ogan;
3) Missionary Interest Group - We are considering forming a Missionary Interest Group to sponsor an ELCA missionary, support them in prayer and learn about what they are doing. If you are interested in helping form this interest group, please contact Lyman Hitchcock for further information.
4) Please contact any member of the Mission Committee if you have other ideas for interest groups.

Spring Mission Calendar

March
March 30: Visit from Executive Director, Sister Parish, Guatemala
4:30 pm, St. Thomas

April
April 7: Mission Committee meeting, 7 pm, St. Thomas
Note that meetings will now be on the first Monday
of each month.
April 13: Forum on micro loans to reduce poverty,
Chris Ogan, 9:45 am, St. Thomas
Fair Trade Coffee and Mission Books?
Mission Endowment Fund meeting
April 18-20: ELCA Global Formation Event, Des Moines, Iowa
April 20:
Earth Day Worship Services
Fair Trade Coffee Booth?
April 27: Forum on ECHO by Janet Ellis, 9:45 am

May
May 4: Temple Talk on ECHO
May 5: Mission Committee meeting, 7 pm, St. Thomas
May 11: ECHO plant sale
May 18: ECHO bake sale
Operation Bootstrap Sunday School Event

Upcoming Summer Events
July 17-20, ELCA Global Mission Event, LaCrosse, Wisconsin
Consider going to this wonderful event!!

March Global Prayer Ventures

PRAYER VENTURES
March 2008

Prayer petitions for Sundays follow the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Prayer Cycle and can be incorporated into the prayers at weekly worship. Weekday entries are offered as guides to prayer for the global, social, and outreach ministries of the church. Thank you for your continued prayers for the life and mission of this church.

1 Listen for God’s voice today as you pray that you will be part of this church’s work to reject and end the stigma of HIV and AIDS.

2 Fourth Sunday in Lent
Holy Lord, we give you thanks for the witness of Christians, known and unknown, in Austria, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.

3 Pray for first-call pastoral candidates recently assigned to synods and now awaiting calls, and for the communities preparing to welcome their gifts, service and leadership.

4 Praise God for Matthew Gardner, Sarah Loan and Pamela Sersen, who touch the lives of high-school students in Tokyo and Kumamoto, Japan, as part of the three-year language program of the Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church. Pray for all teachers and students who participate in this education program and ministry.

5 Pray for the blessings of the Holy Spirit on mission developer Pamela Hansen and the members of All Saints Lutheran Church in Hartland, Mich., as they reach out and minister to people in the area who have never been involved in a church community.

6 Offer thanks for individuals and congregations that accompany new and renewing congregations as Mission Partners, providing “prayer, presence, and presents,” and as coaches, offering encouragement and listening ears.

7 Give thanks for the Rev. Raymond LeBlanc and the members of First Lutheran Church of Carson, Calif., who are sharing the love of God in word and deed through special ministries for people of all ages.

8 On this United Nations Day for Women’s Rights, we rejoice in the ministry of Edna Johnson, a nurse in Liberia who works with Curran Health Program medical staff to provide primary health care to rural villages. Pray that the program, which recently expanded service to 30 more remote villages, will enhance the lives of residents.

9 Fifth Sunday in Lent
We lift up to you, merciful God, the members of the emerging Christian communities in Myanmar and Thailand, that with your help they may expand their ministries.

10 Offer prayers of thanksgiving for the members of Faith, Bellaire, Texas, who traveled to New Orleans and southern Louisiana on a prayer pilgrimage, praying for a positive future for the many families and communities affected by hurricane Katrina. Since their return home they have committed themselves to continued prayer and support.

11 Give thanks for the continued work of Marissa and the Rev. Viking Dietrich in Senegal -- for Marissa’s witness as a teacher and for Viking’s work as general secretary for the Joint Christian Ministry of West Africa, a network of churches and mission organizations working among the nomadic Fulbe people.

12 Pray for pastors and other congregational staff and volunteers who are trying to create and maintain safe places for nurturing spiritual development among young children, who are so trusting and vulnerable.

13 Ask God to continue to bless Sudanese Lutheran Church, Wyoming, Mich., ministering to the Sudanese community in the Greater Grand Rapids area. This two-year-old ministry, served by mission developer Matthew Riak.

14 Remember in prayer Amanda King and Dale Linder, English teachers at the Collège Protestante, a high school of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Cameroon. They conclude their service at the end of the 2007-2008 school year. Pray for the other teachers and students, who continue in this education ministry.

15 Pray for the silence to be broken in your own community over domestic violence, that those who are abused will be free from the harm they endure and that those who physically and mentally harm others will stop.

16 Sunday of the Passion/Palm Sunday
We give you thanks, O God, for the re-emerging churches in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, which are being strengthened by the ELCA and other churches within the Lutheran communion.

17 Pray for Patrick and Jacqueline Bencke, who serve at Kyushu Lutheran College, a college of the Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kumamoto, Japan. Patrick teaches English and Jacqueline directs a college choir.

18 Give thanks for those who volunteer their time and gifts to teach in church-related schools in Slovakia. Today we remember Alicia Cooke, Alison Davis, Larry Paxton and Sonja Paulson, who all teach at the Evanjelicke Lyceum in Bratislava.

19 Joseph, Guardian of Jesus
Pray for the 15 young ELCA members, including Kelly Moeller, Anthony Olson, Maren Magsam and Lindsey Swanson, who are serving in the United Kingdom this year through the ELCA Young Adults in Global Mission program.

20 Maundy Thursday
Give thanks for all students who participate in alternative spring break offerings such as "What A Relief" hurricane rebuilding, that they may serve others with their actions and words and in doing so grow in their understanding of the true meaning of servant learning.

21 Good Friday
Pray for the staff and volunteers of Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest in Tucson, Ariz., who operate a free, confidential and anonymous telephone hotline service providing support to people who seek comfort or need courage to change, or who want someone to listen and lessen the pain of isolation.

22 On this World Day for Water, thank God for the faithful work of Dennis Murnyak in Tanzania. Dennis is completing 20 years of service training development workers in fish farming and sustainable agriculture with Heifer International. Pray for Dennis and his new wife, Kari, as they return to the United States in mid-summer 2008 to begin a new life.

23 Resurrection of Our Lord
Gracious God, we pray for the future of China, Hong Kong and Macao, as these countries seek to form peaceful long-term relationships. We give you thanks for the witness of the churches as they continue to grow and spread the Good News of your love and compassion.

24 Ask God to accompany people who are HIV positive, from teenagers in your community to your neighbors in the Kenya Evangelical Lutheran Church, that they will have full lives of health and service to others.

25 Annunciation of Our Lord
Ask God’s guidance and blessing on the gathering of synod bishops and Evangelical Outreach and Congregational Mission staff who meet March 25-27 in Chicago to consider applications for the start of new congregations in locations across the United States. Thank God for new ministry opportunities and the people of the ELCA who share financial resources to make new starts possible.

26 Give thanks for the volunteers who assemble Easter baskets for 700-800 children served by Lutheran Social Services of Alaska, which gives them an opportunity to share the Gospel message in a very special way.

27 Give thanks for the long and faithful service of Pastor Cliff and Mitesaida Lewis, who serve at St. Andrew’s United Church in Cairo, Egypt, a congregation that also ministers to hundreds of refugees from other countries in Africa.

28 Thank God for Claudia Bergmann and Scott Moore, who serve the congregation of St. Andreas-Nicolai-Petri, in Lutherstadt Eisleben, Germany. Their congregation worships where Martin Luther was baptized and where he preached his last sermons. May Claudia and Scott’s ministry help strengthen the church as it seeks to engage Germany’s secular culture.

29 Please pray for the Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod as it explores opportunities for multicultural ministry.

30 Second Sunday of Easter
Loving God, we pray for the people of Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore, that they may be strengthened to meet the many challenges of a pluralistic world. We praise you for the companion relationships among the ELCA Southeastern Synod, the Lutheran Church in Singapore and the Lutheran Church in Malaysia and Singapore.

31 Pray for ELCA camp leaders as they recruit and interview for summer camp staff, that their efforts will raise up new leaders in the church. Pray also for college students and other young adults across the church who are discerning their calls to serve as camp counselors or staff members in ELCA camps this summer.

This resource may be copied and shared among members and friends of the congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Prayer Ventures is produced by ELCA Communication Services in cooperation with other units of the ELCA. Contact info@elca.org for additional information: Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Communication Services. 8765 W. Higgins Road, Chicago, I