Neighbors Cat Wants to Say Hello (Just for Fun)

My neighbor’s cat has decided that we’re friends, and now demands pet tax whenever I get home. Today I did not move fast enough.

My neighbor’s cat has decided that we’re friends, and now demands pet tax whenever I get home. Today I did not move fast enough. from r/aww

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President Harrison comments on government recommendations

1. Does the LCMS plan to stop Sunday services? If so, for how long?
The national headquarters of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, located in St. Louis, represents some 6,000 congregations across the country. Many of them have schools. Our polity does not give the national headquarters authority to tell churches to stop services. We are encouraging our pastors and people to follow civil authorities according to the Fourth Commandment (i.e., honoring parents and other authorities), and they are doing so according to St. Paul’s direction in Romans 13.

2. Does the LCMS plan to limit attendance to 50 people?
Face-to-face distribution and reception of Christ’s free forgiveness in preaching (Romans 10:17) and the Lord’s Supper (Matthew 26:28) are essential for us and at the heart of why we exist. Some of our churches are putting a plan in place to have multiple services during the week, with no more than 50 attending.* Others, based upon their circumstances, have made other arrangements. We trust our great clergy and laypeople to act appropriately. We have well-trained clergy, and they are consulting their local lay leadership.

3. Does the LCMS believe that a governmental entity has the right to limit a church service?
We don’t view this as a matter of restriction of the First Amendment’s “free exercise” rights. That would be a different matter. We do not believe that the government is trying to limit religion in such an instance. Instead, we view this limitation of church services more as a duty and opportunity to act for the benefit of our fellow citizens, especially those most vulnerable (“love your neighbor as yourself,” Mark 12:31). We respect government authority as it acts for the physical well-being of our great nation and the world. “For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good” (Romans 13:3–4). The good citizen leaders of this nation are trying to limit harm, and we support them.

Government limits might be tested, particularly if more stringent directives come. Our government has generally been limited from restricting the right of assembly and the free exercise of religion, and we are thankful for that, as all Americans are. But we also know that government has a responsibility to protect its citizenry.

Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison, President
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

*At the time of this interview, the government recommended limiting gatherings to 50 people.

https://blogs.lcms.org/2020/president-harrison-comments-on-government-recommendations/?fbclid=IwAR0LUJ1Qb1XTzFFoRKEq7t5oCXe3d8w4m6KnzHBt8XjJYbolSGMpyVEqJQ8

Christian History Almanac - March 17 2020

This Podcast is a ministry of 1517

https://www.1517.org/podcasts/the-christian-history-almanac/2020-03-17

St. Patrick and COVID 19 From FLGA District

St. Patrick and COVID 19

St. Patrick’s Day celebrations this year will be very different. While many will still enjoy a green (or amber) beer, there will be no parades, no rowdy gatherings at a neighborhood bar, restaurants will serve far fewer corned beef and cabbage meals to celebrating patrons.

The COVID 19 pandemic has changed everything.

Whether you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day or not, St. Patrick does have something to teach us as we learn to keep our social distance. St. Patrick’s evangelistic methodology may serve our time and context well.

I’ll let you google St. Patrick’s history – the story of his kidnapping, conversion and subsequent return to Ireland to share the Gospel message with the Irish barbarians who had enslaved him. It’s quite a story. What really interests me, however is how he created a Christian movement within local communities. These days especially, I wonder if God has prepared His church – us – for such a time as this.

Patrick understood that the spiritual life and ministry call were not to be lived alone. There were no large (or small) churches to which he could invite the barbarians. He did not work to convert individuals, but through his missional vocation, his way of life, he invited others to observe, live, and practice a life of discipleship with him. Through this lifestyle evangelism, the Holy Spirit converted many to Christianity.

The lesson for us today – as churches are closed for worship, children are sent home for on-line schooling, meetings are cancelled and travel is curtailed – is simple. While we may not gather in large groups, how could our church leaders resource members to have “house churches,” to gather very small groups in their homes or yards, where neighbors could observe the Christian faith in action and hear the Christian Gospel? Could it be that some or even many of these neighbors will become participants, rather than observers? How many will the Holy Spirit bring to faith and Christian confession in the context of these micro-communities or “house churches?”

This was Patrick’s method. But it wasn’t new with Patrick. The believers in the early Christian Church practiced the same (see Acts 2:42-47 and Acts 4). These believers were called “Christians” (Acts 11) because they lived a Christ-life and because they talked about Christ all the time. Something was different as they practiced hospitality and lived godly lives and as they invited their neighbors to live this life with them. Their neighbors took notice. In fact, these “Christians” were especially noticed in the darkest of times. Plague, persecution and famine gave Christians opportunity to demonstrate Jesus’ love as they served their neighbors in His name.

COVID 19 and the suggested – or enforced – precautions to “flatten the curve” offer us, as the church, the opportunity to be the church in fearful and challenging times. We have the opportunity to live life (even in quarantine) on mission, and to share Good News at a time when the news on TV isn’t so good.

I appreciated James Emery White’s statement in his March 16 post, Why We Cancelled Our Weekend Service…And Why You Should Too. He says, “Just because a church takes a break from physically gathering together doesn’t mean it ceases to be the church! We all know that a church is more than bricks and mortar, and while called to gather for worship it is vastly more than the weekend services… At this moment, our culture needs something it doesn’t have. Not simply more test kits, but the peace that surpasses understanding.” How can you share that peace with your neighbors? White says, “By closing a physical door, we may just be opening a spiritual one.”

St. Patrick gave us so much more than green beer – although you might consider having one with your neighbors and sharing the real story of Patrick with them as a starting point for spiritual conversation.

I think he would appreciate that.

Rev. Dr. Peter Meier, FLGA District
Executive Director of Missions and Outreach

For Consideration and Sharing:

As you prepare pastoral letters and communications to the people of your congregation and school, consider how you might use them to highlight the missional opportunities God is giving.
• How could you gather and share faith stories that take place in the midst of the pandemic?
• What scriptures are you sharing to give courage and hope, pointing people to God’s promises?
• What “best practices” are you promoting to involve God’s people in caring for their neighbors?
• Consider sharing any of the above with us as a means of helping and encouraging others!

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COVID 19 update at Grace

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