Fri
Mar 18
2011

“Peacemaking in a Culture of Violence”

Damon LaakerRev. Dr. Damon Laaker
Assistant to the Bishop
Nebraska Synod, ELCA

“Peacemaking in a Culture of Violence” was the theme for the 2011 SCUPE Conference held in Chicago, March 1-4. I had the privilege of attending this conference along with Pastor Darrell Anderson.

The opening worship featured two powerful preachers, Rev. Dr. James Forbes, Jr. and Rev. Dr. Michael Pfleger. Prior to their speaking, we participated in a confessional exercise that had us take a piece of colored fabric and tear it in two representing the tearing that takes place with violence. Then as we heard the words of absolution, we were asked to tie our torn fabric together with those around us creating a great multicolored streamer representing the power of God to bind us together in love.

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Fri
Mar 18
2011

Meeting the Mission: Pennies for S.W.I.M. (St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, Valley)

Pennies for SWIMThe Sunday School kids at St. Mark’s in Valley collected 300,000 pennies over a four-month period as part of “Pennies to SWIM” in an effort to buy a water purification system to help those overseas without fresh water.

The purification unit was purchased through Safe Water International Ministries, an organization that distributes the technology to areas in need worldwide. The unit itself is a ready-to-use device that purifies enough water to meet the needs of a village of 1,000 people.

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Fri
Mar 18
2011

Several churches support mission in Haiti; dancers coming to Nebraska

Several Nebraska Synod mission centers have teamed up with the Haitian Timoun Foundation to do mission and bring a dance theater to Nebraska.

Living Grace in Omaha, St Mark’s in Bloomfield, Sheridan Lutheran in Lincoln, St. Paul’s in DeWitt, Luther Memorial in Syracuse and the UNL Lutheran Student Center have developed relationships with HTF to support their ministries to the impoverished in Haiti.

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