Thu
Oct 1
2009
Bishop Dave deFreese
Nebraska Synod, ELCA
“It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praise to your name, Oh Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness at the close of the day.” (Psalm 92:1-2)
While the drums played, while the children danced, while the people greeted one another, while prayers were said, while commitments were acknowledged, and promises kept … God was glorified! So many had a part to play, and all those who had gathered for this dedication recognized God’s Spirit active and alive with gratitude and excitement. It is good to be the church together!
We recently celebrated the dedication of the new building for Lakota Lutheran Chapel and Center in Scottsbluff. It was a profound and powerful reminder of the ministry we have been given together. We rejoiced in God’s work through our hands!
Pastor Will Voss wisely wove the dedication service so that each of the varied partners could recognize their role in this ministry of outreach and compassion. We heard members of the Lakota community share the difference this ministry has made in their lives. We also tasted their hunger for this ministry to touch more and more for the sake of Christ and for the living of life. Area churches and ministries participated as the vital partners they are in helping this community grow. Our Synod’s efforts to undergird and support this effort were obvious and well-understood. The support of the Churchwide expression through “Mission Investment Fund,” and the support of the ELCA’s units in ministry were celebrated. Together, we are the Church in action for the sake of the world.
But the partnership was broader than the expressions of our Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The city government of Scottsbluff had provided assistance in obtaining a parcel of land on a city park so that this important center could be built. Ecumenical participation permeated the gathering as greetings were brought from ministry partners who had an essential role in the outreach work. God wove varied and diverse people into the very fabric of ministry for the good of all.
No one single entity of the church could have made this important, life-changing outreach ministry possible. It took us all, doing what we could, to make this work of God impactful and vibrant. Together, God is using each of us to reach out with hope and love in the darkened world. God’s use of the Lakota ministry is one we should celebrate and rejoice.
This is God’s ministry. This is our ministry together. This is your church family’s ministry. It is making a difference for the sake of Christ’s Gospel.
Thank you for being the church! Thank you for being about mission beyond ourselves. Thank you for striving to be what God has called us to be. We rejoice in God’s work through our hands!
Maybe for the first time in my life I could see the awesome power of God’s grace working through the Holy Spirit–starting from basically nothing except the people themselves–and fulfilling a need. The Lakota Mission is tangible evidence of how God works to produce splendid results–all we have to do is believe and follow through with the action. The compass and reach of this mission was wonderful to behold as it began in a rather dingy building and became a living thing. How wonderful to be part of this. God gets the glory for this one.