Editor
By Daniel J. Lehmann
Measure of hope found all around
Looking for meaning, substance Another
bath toy? Encourage young children to splash in the waters of baptism through your gift of The Little Lutheran magazine. Little mariners will meet Mallory, who set nine paralympic swimming records. They’ll learn about Noah’s big boat, Jesus’ baptism and the woman at the well. Subscribe at www.
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$2.50 Volume 3, Issue 6 January 2010 N
early all of us are looking for hope these days, given the political, economic and, yes, religious uncertainties of the age. In
the realm of issues addressed by this magazine, it can be difficult not to fall into a bit of a funk with
“none” now the fastest growing group in religious identification surveys and shrinking interest in denominations and church life in general. But wait. There is hope and good news. Just take a look at this issue of The
Friends Adults, see back cover
Lutheran—or any other over the years. Hope is a recurrent theme throughout the pages, from start to finish, and in none is that element embellished or strained. As the slang goes, it is what it is. From Peter W. Marty’s opening column on passing the peace (page 3) to Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson’s closing piece on sharing faith (page 50), hope springs from nearly every page. It’s unrelenting, really: Cheri Mueller takes a fresh approach to Lent, from repentance to rest (page 14); Mike Weaver tells us to follow Martin Luther’s admonition to be “little Christs,” not “little theologians” in sharing faith (page 16); Frank Honeycutt draws on the prophet Elijah’s experience and how we can be with those afflicted with depression (page 28); Ned Lenhart tells how a pink Mohawk jump started mission at one congregation (page 30); Jeremy Ott details a successful Lutheran-Episcopal congregational collaboration (page 34); Lilly O’Donnell shares the slow, thoughtful decision-making process one congregation is taking on gay marriages (page 36); and Y. Franklin Ishida reveals how goats from ELCA World Hunger (
www.elca.org/hunger) have changed for the better the lives of Chinese villagers (page 38). Then there’s Anne Basye’s cover story “Talking about God: What some of the ELCA’s young theologians are up to” (page 20). These 14 emerging think- ers offer a diverse and expanding view of where our church may be headed in the decades to come. Their enthusiasm is contagious. What we see in all these stories and people is a reflection of what we wish for ourselves and our congregations: a sense that what we do has meaning and substance, that in the end our faith really does matter. Or as Marty says about passing the peace: “At heart, the passing of the peace involves a personal desire to connect whatever is healthy and hopeful in any one of us with what- ever might be healthy and hopeful in the person we’re greeting.” There’s more to come in the months ahead, from congregations that have righted their mission and found new life to unusual ministry partners and a collection of readers’ favor- ite hymns. Certainly, the magazine doesn’t hide or sugarcoat the worrying and sometimes painful issues before the ELCA. But if we do our job and accurately tell the stories of this church, hope will never be lost.
If we do our job and accurately tell the stories of this church, hope will never be lost.
4 The Lutheran •
www.thelutheran.org
MICHAEL D. WATSON
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