Fill… Spill… Thrill…

During this year’s Synod Assembly, Bishop deFreese asked mission  centers/congregations to share what they do in ministry with and among the poor. Below is just one of the many responses the Bishop has received so far.

From Trinity Lutheran Church in Hartington (submitted by Pastor Bob Bryan):

“Trinity Lutheran has planted a “Harvest of Hope” garden in the empty lot next to the parsonage. Vegetables will be available for anyone in need in the congregation and community, no questions asked. It is 40′ x 20′ and planted with donated seeds - we have tomatoes, squash, watermelon, cucumbers, carrots, beets, radishes and beans.

“The seeds were donated, along with two pickup loads of horse manure. We will set up a table in the church and put up a sign outside when harvest begins.”

Lisa Kramme
Director of Faith Formation
Nebraska Synod, ELCA

I love it when someone offers a prayer before meals that includes gratitude for the people who prepared the food. Some folks even expand their prayers to include the farmers who raised the food before it got into the hands of the cooks. Prayers like these help me remember that food doesn’t just miraculously show up on a plate in front of me without at least half a dozen people intervening on behalf of my dining experience.

Most of you reading this article probably know about Operation IDEA, a grassroots effort of the Nebraska Synod ELCA, created for the purpose of raising leaders for Christ’s Church. I talk with people throughout the Synod about Operation IDEA and how the program reaches out to people to ask them if God is calling them to the rostered ministry. But just as a cook in a restaurant needs the farmers who plant the seed and the workers who harvest it, the over-the-road truckers who haul the produce and the wholesale dealers who purchase the food for the cook to fix, ALL of us need to work together to have caring conversations and journey with people who are sensing a call from God.

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