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PASTOR'S PAGE Dying as the way to life sounds almost impossible. After all isn’t death final? How can death lead to life? Christ invites us to do exactly that…die to new life in Him, to give up our old self and to pick up our cross and follow him. The following article, Dying as the way to life, invites us not only to consider what it means to die individually to new life, but what it means as a congregation to die to new life in Christ. What does it mean to die to new life as a congregation? To me, it means to trust in God’s promise that death does indeed lead to new life. Easter certainly reminds us of the truth in that promise. It also means listening and following God’s voice in mission and ministry. I invite you as you read the article to consider what dying as the way to life means for you individually and for you as a member of Lord of Love. May God guide your Lenten journey as we follow Him to His death and celebrate His resurrection. Dying as the Way to Life Jesus spoke challenging words to those who would follow him. “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Mark 8:34-35). The cross had only one purpose in the ancient world—to kill. For only one reason would people carry a cross: they were on their way to death. When Jesus invited people to take up their cross, he was inviting them to die. Yet the path of following Jesus did not end with his taking up the cross, for it is impossible to speak of the cross without speaking of the resurrection. To follow Jesus means following beyond the denial of self, beyond the cross, to the life that waits on the other side of the empty tomb. Holding on to life results in death; surrendering one’s life by following Jesus leads to life. A number of authors have begun to suggest that the church in North America needs to die so that it can be reborn. This bold suggestion takes seriously the centrality of the resurrection for the Christian faith. The church must understand that its death is possible—is, in fact, inevitable. Only then can the church experience the amazing power of the resurrection. Wise congregations develop habits that help them to integrate denying self, cross-bearing, and following Jesus into the essence of their identity. These congregations understand that dying to find new life is not a one-time event; rather, it is a way of being the church. Among the habits developed are wonder, remembering, and risk taking.
Wonder No matter how deep the faith, no matter how profound the trust in God, taking the step of dying—be that dying to one way of being the church or actually closing the doors—is a moment filled with fear and uncertainty. Resurrection is a surprise—a moment of unexpected joy as mourning is turned to dancing. From now on, the life the congregation lives is no longer its own, for the life it lives is the gracious gift of God. The congregation did nothing to earn this new life; it did nothing to call the new life into being. The raised-to-life congregation exudes a sense of wonder at what has happened to it. Leaders quietly say, “I need to pinch myself to find out if I am just dreaming.” Longtime church members shake their heads in disbelief, saying, “I never thought I would see the church alive again.” This amazement affects every aspect of the church’s life. Despair becomes hope, for within the congregation a spirit of anticipation prevails: “If God could raise the church to life again, what else might God do?” The wonder at what God has done creates gratitude. Recognizing their life together as a gift, the congregation moves away from an attitude of entitlement to one of thankfulness. Wonder, gratitude, and humility are among the traits that grow in a congregation that has been raised from death to life. These traits renew every aspect of congregational life. Worship is changed as wonder and gratitude fill the church in its singing, praying, and listening for God’s voice. Decision making is changed as humility embeds itself in the heart of the congregation. The congregation that has died and has been raised to life again is changed; it is no longer the same.
WELCA NEWS
EASTER BREAKFAST/BRUNCH March 23 there will be breakfast starting at 8:00 a.m. before the first service; brunch will be served at l0:00 a.m. until the 11:00 a.m. service. A free-will offering will be taken and the money will be matched by Thrivent. David Salmon will be in charge of this project and he needs people to set-up, cook, serve, and clean-up. A signup sheet will be posted on the kiosk. Please invite your family, friends, and neighbors to join us Easter Sunday. CALL PROCESS BEGINS The Call Committee is complete. We will keep the congregation informed of the next steps. Please keep the Call Committee in your prayers. The members of the Call Committee are:
Thank you for agreeing to this important ministry. I will contact the synod and ask that they inform the Call Process Minister of your formation. I expect that the first meeting will be after Easter. I will keep you in my prayers. God's blessings and my thanks, Pastor Lesley THANK YOU CARD Dear Friends, I have witnessed in action “God’s Partners in Service.” The many acts of kindness include: Pastor Lesley & others serving me communion; the WELCA showing their love by remembering me with greeting cards, flowers and delicious “goodies;” members helping me solve computer problems; brightening my day with emails; Christmas caroling by choir members; the personal visits by many. All of these gestures have been invaluable to me. Thank you, VACATION BIBLE SATURDAY Mark your calendars now – save this date...Vacation Bible Saturday will be August 9th.There will also be a planning meeting for anyone interested in helping with VBS is March 24th at 7:00 pm. BENEFIT CONCERT Kansas City Metro Men’s Chorus will be singing songs of praise in concert at Bethlehem Lutheran Church on Sunday March 9 at 3:00 p.m. A free-will offering will go 100% for Lutheran High School and Bethlehem Lutheran School. Please Help Get Pastor & John Out Of Jail!!
Thank you for helping with “Locked Up for GOOD. Bail must be raised by March 12 at 11:00 a.m. Make checks payable to MDA, and hand to Pastor Lesley or John. SHARING FOR LENT ELCA World Hunger theme for this Lenten season is “God’s math doesn’t add up, it multiplies.” You will find on the 40 Day Plus calendar suggestions for each day how you can prepare your heart and mind for the great gift of Christ’s sacrifice for us. Many of the suggestions are for thinking and praying about those less fortunate. Below are some suggestions for concrete ways to share with those in our own community, as well. Clothing: At the back of our parking lot is a collection bin for clothing and shoes that you no longer need. Any useable items, especially warm things for winter are accepted. Food: Our Meal a Month bin has been recently emptied a couple of times for needy persons who came to our door. Usually these resources are turned over to Heart-N-Hand to distrubute. To build the store back up, we would like for every family to consider bringing one non-perishable item each week for the weeks of Lent, and, if you find it inyour heart, to continue bringing after Easter, for the year to follow. Below are suggestions for each week, but any items are welcome. The complete list was in the February LinfeLine. The cycle can be repeated throughout the year. March 2 – 8 Paper goods or toiletries March 9 – 15 Dried beans or rice March 16 – 22 Flour or sugar March 23 and beyond Repeat the cycle
EARLY EASTEREaster is always the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring Equinox (which is March 20). This dating of Easter is based on the lunar calendar that Hebrew people used to identify Passover, which is why it moves around on our Roman calendar. Based on the above, Easter can actually be one day earlier (March 22) but that is pretty rare. Here's the interesting info: This year is the earliest Easter any of us will ever see. Only the most elderly (95 or older) of our population have seen it this early and none of us have ever, or will ever, see it a day earlier! Here's the facts: The next time Easter will be this early (March 23) will be the year 2228 (220 years from now). The last time it was this early was 1913, so if you're 95 or older you were around for that. The next time it will be a day earlier, March 22, will be in the year 2285 (277 years from now). The last time it was on March 22 was 1818. So, no one alive today has or will ever see it any earlier than this year! (Thanks to the Hubers & Teigens for e-mailing this information)
Making Poverty History through the ONE Campaign
Did YOUR mom say, “Eat your vegetables there are children starving in India”? Or Africa, or Asia, or…. Unfortunately, mom was right. There are ONE billion people across the globe living in extreme poverty. Extreme poverty is defined as someone living on less than ONE dollar each day. And, while mom was also right about eating our vegetables, we know that this is not the solution to global poverty. At Gethsemane Lutheran Church, St. Louis, MO, a group of congregants studied Jeffrey Sachs’ book, The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time. Mr. Sachs writes that the problem of extreme poverty IS solvable: we have the knowledge and the tools to make poverty history by the second decade of this century. As a result, Gethsemane members were inspired to join the ONE campaign and to become a ONE ELCA congregation. See www.css-elca.org/missioninterpreter.html for the complete story. ONE is the campaign to make poverty history. It was formed in 2003 and is composed of Americans of all beliefs and every walk of life – over 2.4 million people united as ONE. The campaign represents 50 states and over 100 of America's most well-known and respected non-profit, advocacy and humanitarian organizations. As ONE, Americans are raising public awareness about the issues of global poverty, hunger, disease and efforts to fight such problems in the world's poorest countries. As ONE, Americans are asking our leaders to:
At Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Springfield, MO, a group of individuals came to the realization that they were limited on how much they could do as a congregation to end global poverty and inspired by how much they could do if they could influence Congress, with the help of others, to act in order to end global poverty. They organized a letter writing campaign through their congregation as well as through their community’s Annual CROP Hunger Walk in September, 2007. The congregation discovered that many did respond by writing letters and that “people really did care about helping. They just hadn’t been shown how.” Read more at www.css-elca.org/missioninterpreter.html. In June of 2005 Bishop Mark Hanson wrote, “I affirm the Millennium Development Goals and I now invite Lutherans to join me in supporting the ONE Campaign.” Many synods are committed to ONE and have urged their congregations to become ONE Lutheran Congregations, including the Delaware-Maryland Synod, Western Iowa Synod, the DC Metro Synod and the Northwest Washington Synod. In addition, more than half of the 65 ELCA Synods have identified a ONE Lutheran leader to help promote and coordinate ONE activities in their synod. In Central States Synod, Bishop Gerald Mansholt wrote in the synod October, 2007 newsletter: “I have been wearing a white wristband in recent days. I encourage members of this synod to join the Lutheran ONE campaign. Why would Lutherans get so involved politically, so publicly? Because God has made us one in Jesus Christ, we get to put that love and unity into action. Because Jesus keeps showing up among the poor, we get to learn new things about what it means to be one in Christ. Show me your wristband!” Individuals are invited to join the ONE Campaign and pledge their voice to the fight against extreme poverty and global AIDS at www.one.org and congregations are invited to become a ONE ELCA congregation at www.elca.org/advocacy/one. The goal of ending poverty may seem lofty, but it is within our reach if we take action together as ONE. We CAN be the last generation to hear, “there are children starving….” We thank individuals and congregations of Central States Synod for their efforts to raise awareness as well as mission support for world poverty.
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Prayer Concerns For The Past Month 
Pastor Lesley & John Watson will be “jailed” for Good Behavior for the Muscular Dystrophy Association at the 2008 Belton Lock-up. Their bail has been set at $2,600, which is the amount needed to send four children to the MDA Summer Camp. By participating in this event, Lord of Love Lutheran Church is offering hope to those who are battling neuromuscular diseases in the Belton area.
