Pastor Carl Trost, retired Navy chaplain, is interim pastor of Mount Nebo and Good Shepherd in the Rapidan Parish. After over 30 years of military and parish ministry, he and his wife and two daughters live in Staunton. Pastor Larry Closter is serving at

Pleasant View, Staunton.

            The congregation of Faith, Suffolk, has dedicated a marble plaque in honor of

the many years of service of retired Pastor Scott Benson and his wife, Babs Benson.

           "For Everything There is a Season" will be the theme of an All Lutheran Women's Retreat, led by Donna Marie Todd, at the Natural Bridge Hotel and Conference Center, Nov. 7-9. The theme will revolve around ways people are always changing physically and spiritually. Fellowship, prayer, worship, music, rest and reflection are planned.

            First Lutheran, Norfolk, and its neighbor , St. Mary's Basilica, held a joint picnic, planned by a joint leadership group, Christians United for Social Change, and scheduled an Oct. 17 dinner and a screening of "When They See Us," a film about the now-exonerated Central Park 5. The ministry "seeks to show how Jesus Christ provides the love and unity that crosses racial and denominational barriers and brings all of God's children together." First Lutheran also plans Bread Sunday on Oct. 20 when members will write letters to legislators seeking support for policies that combat hunger, through Bread for the World programs.

            At Brandon Oaks, Roanoke, Dr. Deanne Vance, a recitalist, chamber musician and a resident, scheduled a piano recital. A grand piano was recently donated to the retirement center.

            An education wing was scheduled for completion for the new school year at Epiphany, Richmond. Classrooms were painted, floors were polished, a bathroom was added in thr nursery and an entrance was widened in the Vision 2020 program. Eight men from Epiphany worked on the home of a coal miner in an Appalachia Service Project at Jonesville in Lee County in August.

At Christ the King, Richmond, a new education wing was dedicated, a blessing and commissioning of students and faculty, backpack assembly and a picnic were held on Back to Church Sunday, Sept. 8. An El Salvador Festival featured Salvadoran food, music, games and crafts on Sept. 14. Information about the children Christ the King sponsors was available at a booth. A team from the congregation will visit El Salvador in January for the fifth anniversary of a building.

The fifth annual Beer und Brats fundraiser was held at Hungry Mother Lutheran Retreat Center on Sept. 28.

At St. Luke, Richmond, the Alexander Paley Music Festival featured music by Alexander Paley, piano;; Amiram Ganz, violin, and Pei-wen Chen, piano, on Sept. 27, 28, 29. Sarah Miles is the new program coordinator at St. Luke.

Grace & Glory congregation , Palmyra, designated September as Feeding Fluvanna Month while collecting food for the Fluvanna Christian Service Society. Last year, county congregations collected 5,500 pounds of food and raised $4,400.

The Thrivent Community-- Blue Ridge Group will bring God's Pit Crew, a non-proft, faith-based crisis and disaster response team from Danville to a service project at Taubman Museum of Art on Saturday, Oct. 18, at 10 a.m. They will participate in a packing event and the launching of Disaster Relief first aid kits.

Ginny Chilton is the new music director at Gloria Dei, Hampton. A music graduate of the University of Virginia, she holds two degrees from Boston University.

Christ, Fredericksburg, has a Feed the Children bakpack program, delivering 150 weekend food 

backpacks at an estimated cost of !3,500 for the school year. Social workers have identified 552 students as homeless.

A tour of historic St. John's Lutheran Church  Cemetery and adjoining Flohr House will be offered by Wythe County Historical Society/Wytheville Department of Museums on Saturday, Oct. 5, at 10 and 11:30 a.m.

The 19 ^th annual golf tournament of Richmond Friends of the Homeless will be held Oct. 14 at Lake Chesdin Golf Club.                                                                                                                                        

Here are portions of an article and a photo from Growing Together, Together in Christ, a quarterly publication of Trinity Ecumenical Parish, Moneta. Doug Miller's wife, the Rev. Bea Miller, is a pastor of Trinity Parish..

  Most Trinity parishioners have had the chance to meet Pastor Bea Miller's husband, Doug. He's a fixture at Sunday services and, let's face it, stands out from the crowd as he deftly rolls into one of the spots reserved for wheelchair-bound woshipers.

  Some may also know of Doug's passion for rolling on three wheels. His fascination with sidecar-equipped motorcycles, as I learned when I interviewed him for Laker Magazine, goes back to even before bullets from a workplace shooting left him, at age 24, paralyzed in the lower body and blind in one eye.

  But Doug (at right), whose youthful looks belie his 62 years and challenging recovery, has nevertheless led an incredibly full life that includes, among many other achievements, marrying Bea and rocketing high-performance motorcycles straightaways.

  "I've never been without at least one motorcycle since age 11 when my older brother bought me a Kawasaki Coyote minibike for Christmas," Doug recounts. Loot from         subsequent gift occasions established his tool collection and he promptly excelled at maintaining and repairing two-wheeled machines. By age 21, he'd become a respected force on the "Hare Scramble" and Enduro dirt bike racing circuits, often driving through the night after work on Saturday to reach Sunday races throughout the Southeast. Then, with racer's adrenalin still coursing, driving all night and back to work on Monday.

    Frustrated with the confines of a six-day-a-week managerial position, Doug left it in favor of a typesetter's job in Tallahassee where the schedule better tolerated weekend trips to races. He was at work one fateful Monday morning when the mentally unstable husband of the business owner showed up, pistol in hand. Doug's body caught two of his bullets, one through the lower spine and another in the neck that exited through his left eye.

 Seven years ago, Doug married Bea, who had already shown a willingness to share his passion for aggressive riding. "She had never been on a motorcycle before getting into my sidecar but took to it right away," Dough said, grinning. The two shared west coast riding during a 12,639-mile cross-country excursion in 2015.

   Their move to Moneta in 2016 has opened up new riding vistas and they are both enjoying the scenic roads within easy reach of Smith Mountain Lake. Says Doug, "There are twists and hills that make for challenging riding and beautiful vistas galore." When Bea isn't along, the sidecar carries Doug's wheelchair. "I can actually take the corners faster when Bea is along to help counterbalance the bike," Doug says with a devious grin.

  The Rev. Dr. Dave Daubert (right), a leading speaker on church renewal, leadership, strategy and stewardship, will lead the annual Gathering of the Ministerium at Virginia Beach on Oct. 21-23. He will be speaking on the Gathering theme, "What is Congregational Vitality Anyways?"

   Daubert, a former engineer, is pastor of Zion Lutheran, Elgin, IL, and leader of Day 8 Strategies, which works with congregations, judicatories and other organizations.. He is a keynote speaker, author, trainer and workshop presenter.

   The Ministerium is an event for pastors, interns, vicars and spouses who will worship, relax, learn, pray and sing for two days. This year's program takes a look at congregational vitality to help rostered leaders know the marks of a vital congregation through worship, pastoral and lay leadership and invitational ministry.

"It smells like earth!" exclaimed my friend as we approached the steps of Roanoke College's  Antrim Chapel on the damp evening of September 10th. Little did we know, she had hit the  major point of Dr. Faith Harris's (right) lecture that night right on the nose. The lecture, titled "Who  Cares about Climate? A Religious Response to the Climate Disaster," focused largely on the  studies of Willie James Jennings, author of Acts: A Theological Commentary on the Bible and  The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race.

Dr. Harris began her talk by listing some statistics. According to a Yale University study from  2008, 70 percent of people in the United States self-identify as Christian. The majority of those  Christians did not see it as their duty to protect the planet. Dr. Harris pointed out that historically  Christians think of themselves as "the only heirs of God's creation." This is the basis of what  Willie James Jennings calls a "geographic wound" caused by a series of "Christian mistakes."

Colonialism was a major Christian mistake and a catalyst for disrespecting God's creation to the  point of hurting the Earth. Colonizing Christians saw indigenous people as ignorant, disregarding  their understanding and love for the Earth. Indigenous people are what Dr. Harris refers to as  "second readers" of the Bible.

Christians tend to consider themselves "first readers," seeing the Bible as being delivered directly from God's pen into their hands. Second readers are exposed to God's word over the  shoulders of all our ancestors; through the lens of their experiences. Dr. Harris calls for a  "re-theologizing" of our Christian principles concerning the climate. She emphasizes the need for morality as well as to transition to being second readers of the Bible. One point that stuck out  to me was her idea that the Earth, God's creation, speaks to us. Climate change is a response  from the Earth to humanity's disrespect for God's gift to us. As Christians, it is our duty to listen  to God's creation.

The crowd had varying reactions to Dr. Harris's lecture. The listeners were generally interested  in what they could do to save our planet. Dr. Harris suggests finding the "green sheep" in your  community; educate yourself and join with environmentally conscious organizations to amplify  their message in your church. Dr. Harris was also asked if she deals with climate deniers. She  responded that while she does, at this point she does not even entertain their comments. One  listener asked what other religions are doing to combat the climate disaster. While many are  making efforts to save the Earth, Dr. Harris pointed out that the 70 percent of Americans she  referenced that self-identify as Christian are "the 70 percent of Americans we can work on."

Overall, Dr. Harris shared a message of hope for the future. By educating ourselves, being  second readers, and listening to God's creation, we, as Christians, can make a huge impact on the  world that God gave to us. We can make sure the Earth "smells like earth!" for generations to  come.

Serena Fick is a senior at Salem High School and

a member at College Lutheran Church, Salem. 

An Interfaith March for Peace and Justice in downtown Charlottesville was led by Joe Shaver of Grace and Glory, Fluvanna County, on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 22. At a conference of the Parliament of the World's Religions at Toronto, Canada, last year, Shaver met Greg Davis, Founder of the Interfaith March movement based at Columbus, Ohio.

 When Shaver expressed an interest in the movement and Davis learned that he lived near Charlottesville, Davis recruited him to lead a march there. Because of the events of the 8/12/17 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, a march was needed, Davis said.

   About 40 people participated in the march in a downtown pedestrian mall, ending at the site of the Heather Heyer Memorial, recalling the young woman who was killed by a neo-Nazi who drove his car into the crowd of protestors. Susan Bro, mother of Heather Heyer, spoke and Shaver read the St. Francis Peace Pray.

Shaver worked with the Charlottesville Center for Peace and Justice and the Charlottewsville Clergy Collective to plan the march. Shaver said, "I have always been inspired by Heather Heyer as an activist and I think that to promote Peace and justice in our community, we need people who are wiling to be activists."

  This was part of an international march in 18 cities and 10 countries. "As solitary individuals, we can't solve any of the critical problems that we're facing locally, globally and nationally but we need each other," said Bob McAdams of Charlottesville Center for Peace and Justice. "They felt that this was a place that needed to show its solidarity with other ciites, but also its dedication to peace and justice that is the way forward from the chaos that was evident on Aug. 12, 2017.

            The National Couincil of Churches will confront racism at a Christian Unity Gathering at Hampton on Oct. 13-16. ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton and Bishop Bob Humphrey will participate in the opening service at the Holiday Inn.,

            The theme for the Gathering will be "Ending Racism: Confronting Our Past, Revisiting Our Present and Naming God's Preferred Future."

            Among the speakers will be Dr. Agnes Abuom, moderator of the World Council of Churches Central Commuittee; Ibram X. Kendl, author, speaker and leading antiracism advocate; Indigenous Archbishop Mark. L. McDonald of the Anglican Church of Canada; Dr.W. Franklyn Richardson, chair of the Conference of National Black Churches; Ruby Sales, public theologian and activist, and Dr. Olav Fykse Tveit, World Council of Churches general secretary.

 

This year's LARCUM (Lutheran/Anglican/Roman Catholic/United Methodist) Conference has a hands-on theme to it that can stimulate and enhance unity and cooperative activity between churches of many faith traditions in your community. "Spiritual Ecumenism: The Soul of the Ecumenical Movement" will be the theme for the Nov. 22-23 LARCUM (Lutheran/Anglican/Roman Catholic/United Methodist) Conference at Holy Spirit Roman Catholic Church, Virginia Beach. This is a special event for laity and rostered leaders.

            Centered on the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity held each January, Fr. James Loughran, SA, director of the Graymoor Ecumenical and Interreligious Institute that has been tasked with providing materials and promoting the week since 1909, will offer insightful food for thought and practical information in developing a meaningful worship experience among churches as well as stimulate community action using the 2020 theme: They Showed Unusual Kindness. Participants will have the opportunity to hear from a strong, cooperative ecumenical group in the Virginia Beach community and take ample time to learn from each other.

            The conference begins Friday, 6 pm, and concludes with lunch on Saturday. Brochures and online registration are available at www.virginialarcum.org. Special motel rates (you are responsible for your own lodging) are noted on the brochure. Registration: $35 (students free). Please register by November 8. For more information and to register through the brochure, contact:

Mr. Rick Caporali

7600 Old Keene Mill Rd.

Springfield, VA 22152

703-451-8576

rcaporali@stbernpar.org

 

(Remember: This is an event for those in the pew and rostered leaders!)

                 

   Most congregations have multiple uses of their buildings but Peace, Charlottesville, has one of the busiest schedules.  Here is their normal weekly agenda  from their newsletter:

"Did you know that we use our church building as a community ministry?

We regularly open our doors to two churches-Spanish Seventh Day Adventists on Saturday and Thursday nights and Grace Faith Chinese Church on Friday nights and some Saturday mornings; five Scout troops; two local homeowner groups; three craft guilds and eight (yes, 8) AA meetings each week!

"That doesn't include the folks who borrow our space for one-time events, including the Virginia Synod. Many of these groups make a donation to cover the cost of maintenance and upkeep, others bring gifts for Hungry Hearts or other ministries.   Most of all, each time we open our doors, we welcome new friends and offer the hospitality Jesus taught us to share."                                                                                                                                      

 

   Retired Pastor Mark Radecke and his wife, Tami Radecke, are planning their 19 ^th mission trip to Nicaragua on Feb. 14=22, in partnership with Nicaraguan Christian Children's Center. They will work on service projects, typically construction, gardening, Bible school, tutoring and dental care.

     The Center is a school and home for children living in humble circumstances. Some are orphans, abandoned or in danger. Their physicl, emotional, educational and spiritual needs are care for in this safe place. For information on the tour, contact Radecke at r adecke@susqu.edu. The tour will be based at Muhlenberg, Harrisonburg, where Radecke previously served as interim pastor.

Roanoke College has been named by U.S. News & Worl Report as one of the nation's top liberal arts colleges for undergraduate teaching. Roanoke ranked 40th (tied) out of 71 national liberal arts colleges recognized by the magazine. This was the first time the college has placed on the list.

            The magazine said the rankings focus on schools where faculty and administrators are committed to teaching undergraduate students in a high-quality manner. Dr. Richard Smith, vice president for academic and student affairs, said the college faculty "prize teaching above all else in their work...Our faculty is committed to fostering an environment that helps each student discover high value careers andl lives with meaning and purpose."

Members of St. Mark's, Roanoke, are recalling that the annual Virginia Synod convention was held in their church on 35 years between 1922 and 1969. That's one of the bits of history as St. Mark's celebrates 150 years of ministry.

 Bishop Bob Humphrey preached at a festive anniversary service on Sept.22.

Pastor Tim Anderson is coming from Minnesota to preach on Oct. 20. Retired Pastors Bill Van O'Linda, Richmond, and Fred Guy, North Carolina, and Pastor Matt Henning, from Georgia, all sons of the congregation, have returned to preach.

            During the anniversary, the congregation has raised more than $385,000 in camapaign to do major work on the organ, replace heating and air conditioning and other improvements.

The 2019 Assembly of the Virginia Synod resolved to encourage congregations to designate a Sunday in October as "Tent of Nations Sunday." The suggested date is Sunday, October 20, the beginning of the olive harvest.

  Tent of Nations Sunday has three purposes: it is a day for corporate and individual prayers, education of congregations and individuals, and encouraging visits to the Tent of Nations to learn and volunteer at the Nassar farm to experience and participate in its mission of building bridges of peace and understanding between people.

  History: Palestinian Lutheran Christians have been a continuing presence in Israel and Palestine since German and English Christians came to support the Christian minority in Palestine in the mid-19^th century, today they are . Our ELCA is an ongoing ministry partner with the ELCJH W hat is Tent of Nations? The Nasser family of Bethlehem, Palestine, are Lutheran Palestinians who since 1916 have owned 100 acres of land in the West Bank near Bethlehem (in Area C), and George Nassar, one of the nine Nassar siblings, is a member of Christ The King Lutheran Church, Richmond,. The Nassar family's deed of ownership of the land since 1916 continues to be contested by the Israeli Supreme Court and Israeli Military Court, restrictions that apply to all Palestinian land in the West Bank, making it practically impossible to farm or make a living.

The Nassars founded the Tent of Nations on their farm (known as "Daher's Vineyard") to gather people of the world for workshops, to provide opportunities for volunteers from many countries to help cultivate the land and to support the continuing mission of the farm and the Women's Center in the village of Nahalin, and to invite visitors to come together to learn, to share, and to build bridges of understanding and hope at home and abroad.

The Tent of Nations, motivated by Christian faith, seeks to embody a positive approach in the face of conflict and occupation, following the command of Jesus to "love your enemies" and thus the motto of Tent of Nationsis "We refuse to be enemies." They strive to channel pain and frustration into positive actions in order to build relationships leading to a better future.

The Tent of Nations is working towards becoming completely self-sustaining in regard to food, water, and electricity, with a vision toward developing a vocational training and education center on the farm which will provide a space for children, young people, and adults of all faiths to learn about alternative energy, organic farming, and community building.

Congregations and individuals can learn more online at Tent of Nations ( www.tentofnations.org ) including information on farming and peace-building workshops, and through Friends of Tent of Nations North America ( www.fotonna.org ) , an all-volunteer charitable organization.

Interested individuals may also register now for a Pilgrimage to the Holy Land that includes a visit to the Tent of Nations and is scheduled for May 1-11, 2020. The cost is $3,000 and includes round-trip airfare from Dulles (IAD) to Tel Aviv (TLV) and 4-star accomodations. Contact Pastor Elizabeth Yates for more information: (804) 968-8648 or eayates143@gmail.com .

The 4-page Virginia Synod insert in the November issue of Living Lutheran magazine will be the last, according to the ELCA. The quarterly inserts containing Virginia features and news have been published in the January, April, July and November issues of the magazine since the ELCA merger in 1988. George Kegley, editor of the Virginia Lutheran, edited the inserts.

            Andrea Kulik, manager of editorial services for Living Lutheran, said only 20 of the 65 ELCA synods are participating in the insert program now. Financial and staffing considerations and a growth in the methods and varieties of ways people prefer to communicate led to the decision to stop using the synod inserts.

In the midst of a changing culture, congregations are looking for innovative ways to accomplish the ministry God is calling them to do.  With the help of a Holy Innovation, two-year grant of $40,000 through the ELCA, the congregations of the Highlands Conference are exploring new ways they can work together to strengthen and support on another's ministry.  The Highlands Conference stretches from Wythe County to Bristol, VA and includes a number of small congregations.  While each congregation provides meaningful ministry to its community, creating a network of congregations working together provides an opportunity to strengthen and    expand their ministry.  

The process of building a new ministry network began with a pastoral leadership retreat and continued with a meeting with congregation leaders to identify opportunities for increased collaboration.  The next step in the process will be to provide technology upgrades to pilot congregations using funds provided by the grant.  These upgrades will allow multiple congregations to participate in the same Bible Study or midday Advent service using Zoom video conferencing.                 As the project continues, the group hopes to identify more opportunities to share the strengths and gifts of leaders and congregations across the network.  For more information on the ministry network project, talk to Pastor John Wertz, Jr., Director for Evangelical Mission:  wertz@vasynod.org .     

 

  Resurrection, Fredericksburg, celebrated the rededication of its refurbished sanctuary and its 30 ^th year of ministry in the Spottsylvania-Fredericksburg area.

Pastor John Wertz, synod director of evangelical mission, was the guest preacher.

At a potluck lunch, many charter members, the pastor-developer and those who worked on the renovation were recognized.

 New carpet was placed, pews and chairs were re-upholstered and the chancel area was reconfigured. Lighting was improved and walls were repainted. The service is projected on four screens simultaneously. The altar and pulpit were moved forward. Wires for the band monitors, microphones and instruments wre tucked beneath the floor. Sound quality was enhanced for live streaming. A sound booth was upgraded.

  The narthex-gathering area received a facelift with new carpet and paint. Nick's Place is an area where restless children, too old for the nursery, can go. It is designed for autistic children but others go there as well.