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Luther and Ministry in Daily Life

Bishop Meggan Manlove

As graduation season winds down, we celebrate graduates from our congregations and wonder about who these people will become and how they will live out their lives. I am also writing this in the middle of a synod candidacy committee meeting weekend, so I cannot help but hope that some of these graduates will one day become pastors and deacons. But I also hope there will be those who find their calling as teachers, business owners, technicians, mechanics, chefs, elected officials, judges, marketers, nurses and hundreds of other vocations. Beyond daily work, I hope they live out their Christian faith as family members, friends, neighbors, and volunteers.  

Over the past few months, I have shared my own excitement about getting more people participating in the Montana synod’s Lay Ministry Associate program. While my enthusiasm remains, I do not want something else to get lost. Why do we gather for worship, for Bible Study, for prayer? Why do we care about what is read and preached in our assemblies? We worship so we can collectively communicate with the Triune God. We also hope that we will be nourished for the time when, at the end of worship, we are sent forth into the world.

My father, who worked for the YMCA and the church his entire life but was never ordained, was passionate about ministry in daily life. He wrote a newsletter for a time called Salt and Light, taking the name from Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:13-16. In that newsletter, dad lifted up all the ways Lutheran lay people were living out their faith in their daily lives. The Lutheran understanding of the priesthood of all believers is one of many reasons my dad became a Lutheran as an adult.

Martin Luther’s passion to make Scripture, the sacraments, and faith accessible to lay people is woven throughout his writing, preaching, and teaching. One of the most powerful examples of his commitment to equipping lay people was his translating the New Testament into the German language, the language of the people.

Another important work to consider is Luther’s An Appeal to the Ruling Class of German Nationality as to the Amelioration of the State of Christendom. It is, like the 95 Theses, a call to reform. In this work, “Luther calls upon the ruling class to reform the Church, since the Church will not reform itself.” In this long document, Luther sets out to attack what he calls the three walls, “which the Romanists have cleverly surrounded themselves with.” Attacking the first wall, Luther writes that in his time popes, bishops, priests, monks, and nuns are called the religious class, whereas princes, lords, artisans, and farmworkers are called the secular class. No one should be frightened by this, Luther writes. “For all Christians whatsoever really and truly belong to the religious class, and there is no difference among them except in so far as they do different work. That is St. Paul’s meaning, in I Corinthians 12 [:12f.], when he says: “We are all one body, yet each member hath his own work for serving others.” This applies to us all, because we have one baptism, one gospel, one faith, and are all equally Christian.”

He follows this up with the statement that is the origin of the phrase “priesthood of all believers”: “The fact is that our baptism consecrates us all without exception and makes us all priests. As St. Peter says, I Pet. 2[:9], ‘You are a royal priesthood and a realm of priests,’ and Revelation, ‘Thou has made us priests and kings by thy blood’ [Rev. 5:9 f.]. If we ourselves as Christians did not receive a higher consecration than that given by pope or bishop, then no one would be made priest even by consecration at the hands of pope or bishop; nor would anyone be authorized to celebrate Eucharist, or preach, or pronounce absolution.”

Luther does believe that our office or occupation gives us different work but not greater dignity as he moves into what became our tradition’s understanding of Christian vocation: “Therefore those now called “the religious,” i.e., priests, bishops, and popes, possess no further or greater dignity than other Christians, except that their duty is to expound the word of God and administer the sacraments—that being their office. In the same way, the secular authorities “hold the sword and the rod,” their function being to punish evil-doers and protect the law-abiding. A shoemaker, a smith, a farmer, each has his manual occupation and work; and yet, at the same time, all are eligible to act as priests and bishops. Every one of them in his occupation or handicraft ought to be useful to his fellows, and serve them in such a way that the various trades are all directed to the best advantage of the community, and promote the well-being of body and soul, just as all the organs of the body serve each other.”

If any of this is intriguing to you, ask your pastor or search your church library for An Appeal to the Ruling Class. Also, read ELCA’s Tim Brown’s column Where Your Heart Is. Find ways to celebrate how you and others in your congregation are being salt and light wherever you are.

Peace,  

Bishop Manlove   

Ordination and Installation

of Gretchen Olson Kopp

Please join in prayer with St. Mark’s Lutheran (Spokane) and Gretchen Olson Kopp as she begins ministry serving as pastor at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church. Gretchen will be ordained to Word and Sacrament ministry Sunday, June 9 at Kountze Memorial Lutheran Church in Omaha, NE. Bishop Meggan Manlove will preside.

Gretchen will be installed at St. Mark’s Sunday, June 16 at 9:30 am. Pr. Carol Yeager, Dean of the Spokane Westward Cluster will install Gretchen.

The color of the day will be Red.

Building on Regional Gatherings Speaker Grace Pomroy’s Presentations:

9 Lessons from Nehemiah for Faith-based Property Development

David Bowers draws key lessons from the biblical story of Nehemiah to guide churches that are redeveloping their buildings or property to serve community needs. He says that such development is difficult, but doable, when approached with the correct spiritual and practical perspectives. Read More Now.

(originally in Leading Ideas from the Lewis Center for Church Leadership of Wesley Theological Seminary)

It's May. Let's Be

“Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21).

May(Be)

Maybe you’re already in “summer mode,” either personally or professionally, ready to relax and take it easy for a bit.

Maybe.

Maybe you’re a little anxious for the next few months. Congregational leaders tend to worry about things such as attendance, offerings and congregational engagement when warmer weather and vacations interrupt regular routines.

Maybe.

Maybe this year has been full of flowers for you, with things turning out exactly in your favor. Or maybe it’s been a rough year so far, a 2024 that you already wish were nearing its expiration date, though we’re not even at the halfway point.

Maybe.

Part of the stewardship of our souls means taking a moment, however we find ourselves, to just “be” for a moment.

Be present, even now. No, seriously—stop reading, sit back and breathe for a second.

Be. Breathe. Be.

In finding moments to be we can take stock of what’s going on around us, giving thanks for the flowers, processing the anxiety for a moment (rather than letting it process us!), honoring what has been and mentally preparing for whatever may come.

May is a time when we can just be for a moment. Maybe.

Maybe one of your stewardship initiatives this summer is to highlight how those in your community are being Christ wherever they may be: on vacation, at camp, out for a hike. Collect some stories from those who are taking your community with them as they travel. Share these stories in the bulletin and on social media (with permission, of course) as a witness to how your community forms and shapes people as divine ambassadors of Christ’s love for the world, no matter where they happen to be.

However you find yourself this May, Beloved, I encourage you to be a good steward of your soul and find a way to just be, if only for a moment. After all, the spring rush can take a lot out of us, and though we often say we’ll “rest during the summer,” that doesn’t always happen.

Maybe there’s no time like the present, right?

It’s May. Let’s be.

Pax,

Tim Brown

Director of Congregational Stewardship

Originally published in the ELCA Stewardship E-newsletter. Click here to subscribe.

(Rostered Leaders. Tim Brown and Trinity Seminary’s Dr. Rachel Wrenn will be with us at Bishop’s Fall Convocation in Walla Walla Oct. 14-16)

Registration Now Open for our Enneagram Essentials

June Series

Thursdays in June

1-2 pm, PT / 2-3 pm, MT / 3-4 pm, CT

Led by: Desta Goehner, Enneagram Professional, Spiritual Director and Director of Thriving Leadership Formation

Wondering how the enneagram may be a tool to help you in your personal and spiritual formation, in and for leadership development and to give you a map for how to live and work with others? 

Click here to watch a quick video from Desta about this series.

Join us for 1 or for all 4 sessions to dip your toe into the enneagram. 

Session Details:

• June 6 – What is the Enneagram: history, symbol & how it can be used for personal & spiritual formation
• June 13 - 3 instincts (1:1, self-preservation, social)
• June 20 - 3 centers of intelligence (head, heart, body)
• June 27 - 9 types

Register once and attend the sessions you’re interested and/or able to join. Register Here. 

Disability Ministries Grants 2024 

The application will open on May 28, and close on July 31, or earlier if we have received 30 completed applications. Projects receiving grants will be announced before the end of October 2024.

May 27, 2024

Dear friends of ELCA Disability Ministries,

Thank you for considering Disability Ministries to potentially help fund your request or initiative via grant. Grant applicants are required to follow the guidelines below to be eligible to receive grant funding through Disability Ministries.

All applicants seeking funds from Disability Ministries must demonstrate how the request or initiative addresses at least one of the following goals:

• Raising up people with disabilities for leadership positions, encouraging the participation of those with disabilities in the wider church, and preparing leaders for serving people with disabilities.
• Equipping our synods, congregations, and members with relevant and practical information that enables them to welcome and support individuals with disabilities so that they might participate fully in the life of the congregation, and that, together, all might experience being the body of Christ.
• Gathering and connecting those with disabilities and various groups within the church so that they might help us become an inclusive, supportive, and whole community of faith.

Additionally, all applicants must show that there is a current relationship, or that they are actively building a relationship, with people living with disabilities in their settings.

We want to recognize that we are moving beyond having an attitude of “If we build it, they will come” in the church. So, for example, not requesting funding for a ramp simply for the sake of having a ramp. But rather explaining how the ramp (or whatever your project may be) would be of a benefit to the disabled people in your setting and your ministry.

We will be funding a total of $50,000. Grant applicants can apply for a grant in the range of $5,000-$10,000. Previous applicants who were not funded may reapply.

The application will open on May 28th, and close on July 31st, or earlier if we have received 30 completed applications. Projects receiving grants will be announced before the end of October 2024.

To register with GrantMaker, please go to elca.org/grants/impact-church-ministry, and follow the links and instructions that follow. If you have a profile with GrantMaker already, log in here: elca.fluxx.io/user_sessions/new to begin your application process.

For questions, please email grants@elca.org or disability.ministry@elca.org.

God’s peace and blessings as you begin the application process!

—ELCA Disability Ministries

Webinar:

Grant Writing for Congregations

As communities work to incorporate new funding streams into their ministries, grant writing can be confusing and intimidating. Not all communities of faith are eligible for every grant, but there are some grants available for groups doing new and innovative ministry, especially with vulnerable populations and communities on the margins.

This webinar will explore both the technical side of grant writing (what are you funding, and why?) as well as the process of finding grant opportunities and deciding if you fit the criteria. Finding opportunities and writing grant applications can be intimidating, but it’s rewarding to bring to life something new for your community.

Mark your calendar:

“Grant Writing for Congregations”

Monday, Aug. 19

6-7 p.m. Central time

Join webinar

Meeting ID: 847 9500 8544

Passcode: 869038

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From the ELCA Stewardship E-newsletter