“I’m always surprised”
“The mountains are calling and I must go.” Perhaps you’ve seen a shirt, mug, or other item printed with this quote from naturalist and preservationist John Muir. It’s actually a shortened version of a sentence in a letter written to Muir’s sister in 1873: “The mountains are calling & I must go & I will work on while I can, studying incessantly.” For many of the church leaders from across the NC Synod, the mountains call each fall and we must go—specifically the mountains call us to Fall Convocation at Lutheridge from Monday to Wednesday sometime each fall. For those three days, we worship, we pray, we sing, we learn and we play—all incessantly. We gather each autumn with different keynote speakers and different workshop and worship leaders, but some things are constants. For Pastor Greg Williams (Grace, Hendersonville) the things that are his favorites are those constants: “My three faves: worship, fellowship with colleagues, and keynoters who challenge my continuing growth.” (more…)
First Lutheran Church, Greensboro, participated in the Greensboro Pride Festival on Sunday September 15. Twenty-one members of the congregation hosted a booth to hand out bottles of water and express our commitment to full inclusion for all LGBT adults. Over 400 bottles of water were distributed and numerous great conversations were had about God and God’s love for all people. Pastor Jay Hilbinger is pictured.
Story shared by George Still.
Visiting Papua New Guinea
Over 1400 inhabited islands. Over 800 distinct languages. An independent country since 1975. Over 1,000 anthropological-distinct cultures. 27% Roman Catholic. 21% Lutheran. 11% other Christians. Along with the Amazon basin, home to some of the last remnants of Stone Age civilizations. Six degrees south of the Equator. Stunningly beautiful natural tropical paradise. Abundant natural resources including gold and oil. Crocodiles, snakes, and the Bird of Paradise—both the plant the the actual bird. High crime. Highest domestic violence rate in the world. Deep governmental corruption. Virtually non-existent infrastructure. 80% of inhabitants have no electricity or access to clean water. Unbelievingly hospitable people. Deep vulnerability to development and exploitation by businesses of other nations. These are a few of some of my amateur observations after spending a couple of weeks in Papua New Guinea (PNG) last month (plus another week of travel to/from). (more…)