Editor notes
By Daniel J. Lehmann
No shortage of challenges
An appropriate start to Lent L
ife, as the saying goes, is full of challenges. So is doing ministry and publishing a denomina- tional magazine. Consider a few of the issues
before the church and in this issue of The Lutheran. Early in February the Lutheran World Fed-
eration said it was “deeply concerned” about the financial situation facing its Augusta Victoria Hospital on the Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem. The cash- strapped Palestinian Authority owes $24.4 million for patients it referred to the hospital, with no payments made in 2013. If the money had been received, the LWF said the hospital would have a cash surplus instead of a financial crisis. No one takes the situation on the Mount of Olives more seriously than Mark
B. Brown, an ELCA pastor who administers the storied location for the LWF. Augusta Victoria is the cornerstone of the Palestinian health system, including specialized treatment at its cancer, diabetes and pediatric centers. Brown, the pride of Streator, Ill., keeps the mount overlooking Jerusalem together for all of us in the ELCA since the denomination is a LWF member. Pray for him and the work on the Mount of Olives. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land continues to
keep the faith in the face of political and sectarian turmoil across the Middle East. Christians still emigrate from the area, but thousands upon thousands remain. As Bishop Munib Younan asked fer- vently some years ago of me and other guests at an ELCJHL facility in Bethle- hem: “Don’t forget about us.” Never. • The reflection on the imposition of ashes at the start of Lent (page 23) leaps from the page thanks to the photo of a child with a smudged cross on his fore- head. Even children are dust. Sobering, yes, yet they enjoy the same promise of life as do adults. • The “Lutheran appreciation” for Pope Francis (page 40) may strike some as odd for a Lutheran magazine. The view offered is one about the man and his actions—not the Roman Catholic Church—in the first year of his papacy. Let us rejoice in what binds us, rather than rant about what divides us. • The theological article on the future of the church (page 14) sees a worldview change of “stop building and hoping they will come and instead galvanize our resources and energy around a focus on the call to go.” A worthy switch, indeed. • Just as a preacher can’t cover everything every Sunday, neither can a columnist. Peter W. Marty’s “Who is saved?” (page 3) should be read in connection with his February column “Sorting out heaven and hell” (page 3). They are fully consis- tent. As one editor said, “I think he’s correct that one of our besetting sins is our tendency to restrict the love of God to ourselves and our group, however large we make the in-group.”
Even children are dust. Sobering, yes, yet they enjoy the same promise of life as do adults.
4
www.thelutheran.org
The Lutheran is the magazine of the ELCA
Subscriptions & customer service Subscription issues, address changes, billing questions: phone—(800) 328-4648 email—
subscriptions@augsburgfortress.org
Editorial offices: 8765 W. Higgins Rd., Chicago, IL 60631
(800) 638-3522; (773) 380-2540 Fax: (773) 380-2409 Email:
lutheran@thelutheran.org Web:
www.thelutheran.org
The Lutheran is a member of the Associated Church Press
Editor Daniel J. Lehmann
lutheran.editor@thelutheran.org
Section editors Julie B. Sevig Congregations & Community
julie.sevig@
thelutheran.org Elizabeth Hunter Church & World
elizabeth.hunter@
thelutheran.org
Manager, editorial production Andrea Pohlmann Kulik
andrea.pohlmann@thelutheran.org
Manager, editorial art Michael D. Watson michael .
watson@thelutheran.org
Director, circulation/marketing Curtis Peterson
curtis.peterson@
thelutheran.org
Study guide editor Robert C. Blezard
rcblezard@hotmail.com
Senior administrative assistant Barbara A. Fletcher Advertising
barbara.fletcher@thelutheran.org advertising@thelutheran.org
The Lutheran is published monthly through Augsburg Fortress, Publishers, Box 1209, Minneapolis, MN 55440. (ISSN 0024-743X USPS 322080)
For display and classified advertising sales: (800) 638-3522 Ext. 2541;
advertising@thelutheran.org. Acceptance of advertising does not imply endorsement.
Subscription rates: $19.95 a year; outside N. America add $9.20 for postage. Payable in U.S. funds. Send subscription requests to The Lutheran Circulation, % Augsburg Fortress, PO Box 1553, Minneapolis, MN 55440-8730. Or subscribe online:
www.thelutheran.org.
On tape: Customer Service, Box 1553, Minneapolis, MN 55440; (800) 328-4648.
On microfilm: National Archive Publishing Company (NAPC), 300 N. Zeeb Rd., PO Box 998, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-0998.
Copyright ©2014 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved. Duplication in whole or in part in any form is prohibited without written permission from the publishers. Printed in the U.S.A.
Nonprofit Periodicals Postage paid at St. Paul, MN, and additional mailing offices.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: The Lutheran, Augsburg Fortress, Publishers, PO Box 1553, Minneapolis MN 55440-8730.
The Lutheran magazine belongs to the people of the ELCA in all our diversity. The magazine: • Nurtures awareness of Christ’s presence in our lives and the world. • Shares stories of God’s people living their faith. • Connects us with the global Christian community. • Provides an open forum for discussion. • Challenges us to bring God’s grace and care to all.
MICHAEL D. WATSON
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52