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O Saints of Advent, Lead Us

a message from Liv Larson Andrews, DEM

Nights in the northern hemisphere continue to deepen, dark and cold. The winter Solstice draws near. Soon, we will light candles as we sing Silent Night at the Feast of the Nativity. All creation cries, “Come, Lord Jesus.” 

Three saints accompany us with their own cries in these weeks of Advent. Well, of course, countless saints accompany us all the time – we are each saint and sinner at once! But in the month of December our calendar remembers two bishops and a martyr who I think can help lead us as we move through the long nights of 2023 and into the coming dawn of 2024: Nicholas, Ambrose, and Lucy. 

Nicholas served as Bishop of Myra, in what is now Turkey. Although lore around him grew and changed over the generations, contorting his story into the mythic St. Nick/Santa figure, he was known for generosity and caring for the poor. Anonymous, even sneaky, gift-giving has become his hallmark. Our stockings hung by the chimney with care have origins in tales of Nicholas freeing people from debt and oppression through surprise gifts.

Elected bishop of Milan after settling violence between Arians and Catholics, Ambrose taught, preached, and wrote hymns while championing both peace and the pursuit of orthodoxy. He famously mentored Augustine. We often sing his words in Advent through the hymn “Savior of the Nations, Come.” 

Then there’s Lucy. If you have ever interacted with Scandinavian Lutherans, you likely know of her. Nameless, as “Lucy” is not her name but rather her title, “light-bearer,” she is beloved in Scandinavia and all places that experience long winter nights. She is also a model of resistance. Her crown of thorns sat on her head, lighting her way, so that her hands could carry food and resources to Christians hiding in the catacombs from imperial soldiers. 

Many stories about these saintly figures have a measure of wonder and fantasy about them. For example, it is said that a soldier plucked Lucy’s eyes out when she refuses to stop feeding people. Then he handed her her own eyes on a plate. She simply popped them back in the sockets and went on with her ministry! 

As we look out upon folks in our communities struggling with homelessness and poverty, or when we stumble to find the right words to share our story, or even when the powers that be threaten to dismember us and steal our vision, Christ comes. Christ is incarnate even now, in our midst, calling us to live lives of boldness and bravery.

Alongside these commemorations of saints in December, there is another feast in the season of Advent that gives us hope. Our Lady of Guadalupe is celebrated on December 12 in Mexico and everywhere Christians of Mexican heritage gather. Her appearance to Juan Diego, speaking to him in his own language, and her gift of the hillside of roses in winter are reminders that God draws near to those who are suffering and those who need help. We remember how we are part of God’s family, recalling the way Mary affirmed that she was a mother to Juan Diego.  

2024 promises to be a year of division and drama. Voices will call for violence. Fences may be raised, then heightened. What do these stories and visions have to teach us about living in such times? 

Nicholas, open our hands and hearts. Teach us about God’s surprising generosity.

Ambrose, open our mouths with stories and poems to sing the Spirit’s radical love.

Lucy, open our eyes to the dawning light, both within and without. 

Our Lady of Guadalupe, bloom with your joyful assurance that God is among us and healing us, and call us your chosen family. 

And when the powers threaten to tear us apart, O Christ, broken for our sake, feed us with your own broken body. Come be born in every catacomb, back alley, prison cell, desert hillside, and graveyard. Come, Lord Jesus, come. 

Invite the Bishop to Your

Winter Meeting

I will be in The Treasure Valley of Southwest Idaho for most of January and the first half of February, but with video conferencing at most of our fingertips, I could easily join many church council, stewardship, or board meetings across the entire synod. Why am I seeking invitations and what could I offer?

• First and foremost, I want to get to know more individuals and ministries. My chief task would be to listen. I want to hear what you are excited about and/or pondering.

• I could certainly offer an opening devotion and prayer at meetings.

• I often lead by asking questions, not hypothetical questions, but discerning questions.

• I care deeply about stewardship, everything from the fall financial appeal to year-round stewardship, creation care, legacy giving, stewardship of relationships, and more.

So, instead of me driving treacherous mountain passes this winter, I would love to Zoom, Google, or even Call into your meeting to bring greetings, pray, and listen. Call or email me.

-Bishop Meggan Manlove

To serve your congregation in a deeper way? Do you want to receive more theological and skills training to help your local congregation? Have you been encouraged by other members, your pastor/deacon, or a cluster dean to take on more leadership?

A NWIM Synod Council task group believes that the Montana Synod's Lay Pastoral Associates training program is still a great fit for our synod. (Several synod members went through the program years ago). Montana hopes to have the program entirely online in Fall 2024. What exactly is an LPA?

A Lay Pastoral Associate in the Montana Synod is a congregational lay person who has received religious, educational training, through the Montana Synod, in order to provide (in most cases) short term pulpit supply (ie, preaching) when the pastor is away, or if a congregation is without a pastor. Their role is to fill in for the basic pastoral duties such as providing Word and Sacrament, communion, and other roles as approved by the Bishop. Follow this LINK for more information.

Our synod task group is gauging interest as we consider forming a NWIM cohort to go through Montana's very affordable LPA training program together.

About SAMs and LPAs: Synod bishops can authorize a Synod Authorized Minister (SAM) where the need exists for Word and Sacrament ministry, but it is not feasible to provide a rostered minister of Word and Sacrament. Enrolling in LPA courses does not mean someone is committing to being a Synod Authorized Minister. You could enroll simply for self-edification. However, in our synod, Bishop Manlove will want SAMs to complete the LPA training.

Complete this INTEREST FORM.

Pastors, Deacons, and Council Presidents,

Can you identify someone in your congregation or cluster who might benefit from going through additional theological and skills training? (see above)

Complete this NOMINATING FORM.



Book Study - God is Red 

Author, Vine Deloria Jr. 

via Zoom with DEM Liv Larson Andrews

Continuing December 19, January 9, 16, 23, & 30. 

Zoom link will be provided with registration.

Endowment Application

Advent Lutheran Church of Spokane, WA

is offering funds for

COMMUNITY SERVICE/OUTREACH

organizations

throughout our region.

Give to Trinity New Hope | Avenues for Hope

Housing Challenge

Hi! I have been the President of the Board of Directors of Trinity New Hope, Inc. (TNH) since the nonprofit began in 2014. TNH owns and manages 16 single-family homes that each have 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and single-car garages. These homes are rented at significantly below-market rates to low-income families. We are very proud that we can provide this life-changing affordable housing ministry to our community.

The annual fund-raising event for Trinity New Hope, Inc. is called Avenues for Hope. This fund-raising event begins on 12/12 and runs until 12/31. 

2023 was a really difficult year for Trinity New Hope. We had six separate homes suffer water intrusion incidents that each required extensive remediation and repairs. Each water intrusion event was due to a different reason, and none were caused by deferred maintenance. Unfortunately, having these units vacant during remediation, plus the unexpected costs for repairing six different homes, caused extreme cash flow issues for our organization this year. I ask you to please consider supporting Trinity New Hope during this year's Avenues for Hope Campaign. Our organization is led by a dedicated group of volunteers, and we are fighting homelessness in our community one family at a time.

Please read an article about Trinity New Hope, Inc. that was recently published in The Mustard Seed, a national publication distributed by the Mission Investment Fund of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. I hope you enjoy learning more about our vital ministry.

Thank you!

Dr. Tami McHugh

President

Trinity New Hope, Inc.

Oregon Synod Lay School of Theology

presents our Winter 2024 Course, 

Wrestling with God: Encountering the Divine in the Hebrew Scriptures

Eight Thursdays, January 4-February 22, 2024, 6:30-8:00 pm on Zoom

Join us for an eight-week course digging into the Hebrew Scriptures! Like Jacob wrestling with the Divine, we’ll wrestle with texts. How do we make sense of difficult stories- God’s anger that leads to violence? Genocide in Joshua? How does God make Godself known in the natural world, in events, through other nations? What wisdom can we wrestle from these texts to help us live more faithfully? What might we learn, and what might we need to unlearn? We’ll explore names and images for God, including female imagery for the Divine, and offer ways to use this imagery in your spiritual practice.

Learn more...

Save the dates for this joint ELCA-PCUSA event.

Stewardship Kaleidoscope is an annual conference offering excellent plenary speakers, informative workshop leaders, provocative worship experiences, and incredible networking opportunities for all passionate about stewardship and generosity. Drawing leaders from across the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) and other ecumenical partners, Stewardship Kaleidoscope is designed to help participants explore stewardship in its many colorful dimensions!

Our mission is to create an annual event that:

• Ignites Generosity
• It Gives Practical Tools for Cultivating Generosity in Congregations
• Expands the Leadership Capacity of Those Who Lead Stewardship Initiatives
• Cultivates Adaptive Approaches for Funding Christ’s Mission

Registration and scholarship information coming later in 2024.