How do 100,000 masks get into the hands of NC Synod congregations? “Ask and you shall receive!” says Deacon GeoRene (“Jo”) Jones, NC Synod Liaison for Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR). Over the last 25 days, 152 cases of cloth face coverings were distributed to congregations and affiliated agencies. Early this year, the Federal Emergency […]
Read More
“When I was a child, I had the cutest yellow dress made out of a flour sack,” Barbara Smith shared with her pastor, Vern Kinard, “and although we had many sack clothes growing up…we never had to worry about food because we lived in this community. That’s how it should be and that’s how we […]
Read More
Finding new ways “I’ve heard some people say that they aren’t having church, but the truth is, we are the church. It is true that we cannot go to the building and worship corporately, have our spirits lifted in prayer, in song, in word, in communion. But we can certainly worship as the church together, […]
Read More
From daily bread to abundant thanks “People are often overwhelmed with thanks, tears in their eyes, and joy in their hearts as we bring an abundance of food to them.” The Rev. Chantal McKinney, pastor of Christ’s Beloved Community (CBC), Winston-Salem, shares reactions from neighborhood folks who received food from the CBC food pantry. Amid the […]
Read More
The church is the people! Lent 2020 began with people gathering for the imposition of ashes, but after just a few weeks of worship following soup and sandwich suppers, the coronavirus interrupted everything.
Read More
“God is in the room” Almost five hundred middle and high school students gather in a ballroom in Greensboro on a weekend in February. Some are laughing and chatting with their friends from church, some are anxiously waiting to see what this is all about, some are greeting old and new friends across the room, […]
Read More
A time for the Gospel in action ‘If there was ever a time for the Gospel in action, this is it.’ McDougald Terrace is the city of Durham’s largest public housing complex with 360 apartments built in 1953. In early January, the Durham Housing Authority began an immediate emergency relocation of families living there following […]
Read More
Beautiful to be the church “The more I learned about Christ’s Beloved Community, the more I thought, ‘This is a beautiful thing! On a beautiful Thursday in October, a small group of us traveled from various spots around the synod to the south side of Winston-Salem. Based on the tiendas and taquerias in the surrounding […]
Read More
“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 […]
Read More
ReformING: Always being made new In 2015, Pastors Lauren and Paul Carlson were called as co-pastors to Calvary, Morganton, where they would share one call, 50/50. Today, they’re still serving at Calvary and they’re still sharing one call, but now Pastor Paul is three-quarters time and Pastor Lauren is one-quarter time, but that’s not the […]
Read More