Thoughts as Summer Approaches

May 31, 2010

A gang of drunkards was rowing a country-boat along a lake. On the way they saw a shop where liquor was being served. It was getting dark and all of them were tired. They decided to stop and resume the row after relishing a drink. They got out of the boat and tied the boat safely with a rope to a tree on the bank of the lake. Then they entered the liquor shop and ordered drinks. They filled their bellies to the full with the liquor and returned to the boat with unsteady steps. They got into the boat and rowed hard, happily singing a fond melody in the ecstasy of intoxication. Hours rolled on. At sunrise, when they came back to their senses, they were surprised to find that they were still stationed near the liquor shop. They examined the boat and found that it was still bound to the tree. In the intoxicated state, they forgot to untie the boat. It could not move though they rowed hard for a full night!

A prayer group had a senior leader. He used to repeat this request in every prayer, “Lord, clean all the cobwebs entangling my life.” One day, tired of hearing this repeated request, one smart member who was to pray next, prayed aloud, “Lord, our leader has been praying every day to get his cobwebs removed. Kindly grant him the strength to kill the spider that is causing this constant trouble!” The members greeted the prayer with great applause.

This summer as your schedules begin to wind down. Be careful that you do not find yourself rowing your boat, only to find that your still tied to the tree. It may also be true that we will spend sometime cleaning out the cobwebs, when we might want to be Killing the spider.

May your journeys this summer be free and your lives uncluttered with cobwebs.

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Stand with Africa & Seafarers

May 31, 2010

Stand with Africa (www.elca.org/hunger)

Stand With Africa efforts assist communities and churches in Africa in their work to overcome HIV/AIDS, banish hunger, and build peace. Stand With Africa donations given through the ELCA are allocated to Lutheran World Relief, the Lutheran World Federation, and ELCA companion churches in Africa. No administrative costs are taken from these funds.

Seafarers & International House (www.sihnyc.org)

“Real Presence … Real Mission” So what does this mean—really? It is all about Christ, His presence, His mission. We exist as an expression of that same life-giving spirit through services that foster human dignity and nurture the human spirit for the stranger we have yet to meet. It is primarily a ministry of care and support for seafarers, who spend months at sea, separated from family support and friends. Through a ministry of presence, we reach out to these seafarers in various seaports throughout the Northeast. Ours are hands of welcome and outreach to those who would otherwise feel isolated and alone. Our mission is to welcome and support these brave seafarers, to care for their physical, spiritual, psychological, and emotional needs, and to serve as a link to family and other loved ones. Whether at port, on the water, or in our guesthouse, we want to be viewed as a “home away from home.” In other words, our visits, our services, and our presence make a real difference.

However, this presence is not solely for the seafarer. We have a mission to the sojourner as well. This could be an international visitor who seeks refuge in our guesthouse. It could be a seafarer at the end of a long journey or a career in maritime work. It could be a student seeking lodging as a part of a internship project. It could be a family seeking comfort and care while a loved one receives medical treatment in a local medical center. It could be a woman-in-crisis who has lost self-worth and dignity. It could simply be an individual seeking a sense of meaning or direction for their life. We are real presence for the least, the lost, and the lonely. But there is even more—really! We represent an embodiment of Christ’s presence in Word and Sacrament ministry as a social ministry arm of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Therefore, our ministry, though ecumenical in outreach, finds its identity and mission in and through support of this larger community of faith. Our mission to the sojourner provides a meeting place or retreat center for congregational groups or individuals who meet at the guesthouse in their own spiritual journey.

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