In mid-August about 30 people from the Board of Trustees, the Ministry Board, the LCMC staff, and representatives of our districts and fellowships met at Lutheran Church of Hope in West Des Moines, IA, with an additional handful of participants joining us online. Along with the regularly scheduled board meetings, the time was spent in training, preliminary planning for the 2027 Annual Gathering, and conversation around the opportunities ... [...]
Since our 2025 Annual Gathering, we have been focused on the conviction that God has been our help in ages past and that he will continue to be our hope for years to come. Above all else, this is a confession of faith because the signs of God’s help and the reasons for hope are not always apparent to us. In fact, sometimes they are nowhere to be found. My assignment for this month’s e-newsletter was to provide a mid-year ... [...]
In Mark 5, a man once feared and pushed to the margins is restored by Jesus, yet his community responds with fear instead of joy, exposing how quickly we define others by what we don’t understand. As we reflect during Mental Health Awareness Month, this story invites us to see beyond stigma and remember the deeper truth: you belong to Christ, and that is what defines you. [...]
The theme for the 2025 Annual Gathering, that continues to shape our work through the coming year, came from a beloved hymn – O God Our Help in Ages Past. In the middle of the first verse of that hymn, we find the line, “our shelter from the stormy blast.” The hymn delivers the sure and certain promise that in the midst of the storms of life, we have shelter. We have protection and security. It is not difficult to ... [...]
For many years, LCMC has marked Three Days of Prayer early in the year. Congregations have observed this prayer vigil in a variety of ways, and for those who participate, it has been a unifying and uplifting event. In the coming year, we are going to expand our Three Days of Prayer to a year-round call to prayer. Each month there will be a prayer calendar attached to the e-newsletter. [...]
The Annual Gathering can be unforgettable for those who attend, but what if the impact reached all the way back home? Here’s how you can bring the experience with you. [...]
Maybe 20 years or so ago, I was mindlessly watching television on a dark Minnesota evening in the late winter or early spring, when a commercial came on. Commercials seem to be louder than the shows they interrupt, so it got my attention. It was a Walmart commercial, advertising everything you would need to fill your child’s Easter basket and prepare an Easter feast. Lots of chocolate and pastel colors filled the screen. Then came the ... [...]
If you’ve read anything produced by LCMC in the last five years or so, you are aware of our renewed emphasis on supporting the work of districts and fellowships. These “networks within the network” are essential to serving congregations well, especially as LCMC continues to grow. For many years, leaders of districts and fellowships have held a summer meeting to support and get to know each other and share ... [...]
Last summer, we made the difficult decision to cancel the National Youth Gathering. It is no secret that people’s calendars are filled beyond their capacity and that scheduling events is challenging. When we canceled the youth gathering, there was some concern that this signaled a lack of interest or concern with youth ministry in LCMC. In reality, it was a re-thinking of how to effectively engage with youth, with increased emphasis on ... [...]
Fifty-four days ago (but who is counting?) I began my new role as service coordinator of LCMC. It is an honor to be selected for this position by the Board of Trustees and I look forward to the work we will do together in the future. But before we look ahead, we thought we’d take a quick look back on 2025 so far. In January, the Board of Trustees opened up the application process for a new service coordinator. Mike Bradley ... [...]
If you have never been to an Annual Gathering before, I can imagine a couple of ways you might think of it. Perhaps you think of it like other church meetings you’ve been to, with a lot of business and perhaps some controversy. Or maybe you just think of it as a room full of strangers. Neither of those would sound very compelling to me. First off, the business session of the Annual Gathering is t [...]
Long before being offered the role of service coordinator for our association, I was assigned to write a piece for the e-newsletter on “Vocation.” I’ve spoken of vocation before and have given the topic a fair amount of thought, but for the e-news, I just couldn’t find my way into this article. No words were coming. It occurs to me that part of the word drought was that I was rather focused on wha [...]
On May 10, barring a blizzard, the newest district in LCMC will hold its constituting convention. The Northern Plains District will have their inaugural meeting at Charity Lutheran Church in Bismarck, ND. Churches from North and South Dakota, Minnesota, and Montana will likely be in attendance. The prospective footprint of the Northern Plains District overlaps some with existing districts, both geographic and non-geographic, which is not ... [...]
The third core value of LCMC can seem like it should just be a given. Of course we’re rooted in Scripture. Of course we’re rooted in the Lutheran Confessions. It says so right there in our constitution, probably right there in the constitutions of all of our members churches. And as long as we affirm that statement, and don’t ask too many questions, or get too specific about what it means, we all get along just fine. It ... [...]
Our 2025 Lenten Devotional is now available for download as a resource to pastors, congregations, and indviduals. A full color version and a printer friendly grayscale version are both included below. Feel free to download and share them with your congregation, family, friends, etc. Click on the images to download the PDF. [...]
A 2024 advent devotional is available at no cost as a resource for our pastors, leaders, and congregations to use during the holiday season. A full color version and a printer friendly grayscale version are both included below. Feel free to download and share them with your congregation, family, friends, etc. [...]
This past summer, we ended up cancelling our National Youth Gathering due to low registration. While this was greatly disappointing to the planning team, it reflects part of a shifting emphasis in LCMC. That emphasis is not away from youth ministry, it is toward more local and regional partnerships in youth ministry. What we saw after cancelling the national event was that a number of districts, regional groups, and nationwide ... [...]
Every summer, designated leaders from LCMC districts and fellowships meet together at Hosanna! in St. Charles, IL to hear updates from one another, share resources, and do a little dreaming about the shape their work could take on behalf of LCMC congregations. Every summer, the Board of Trustees and the Ministry Board also meet. This year, those meetings were coordinated to bring everyone together into one space along with the staff at St. ... [...]
There are a lot of exciting developments in the realm of districts and fellowships in LCMC. One new district has been created. Several more are in the works. The possibilities for fellowships are limited only by the imaginations of our members. The regional and interest-based networking that happens through districts and fellowships is vital to the future of LCMC. During the Annual Gathering there will be a few opportunities to learn more ... [...]
At times, the talk about the role of districts and fellowships in the ongoing work of LCMC can seem a bit overwhelming. Congregations finding creative and appropriate ways, and enough time, to work together to address shared needs and concerns is a new way of thinking for many of us. Districts and fellowships are two of the vehicles congregations can use to start to find ways for cooperation and mutual support. But sometimes, when ... [...]
One of the first questions people ask me when we begin a conversation about forming or renewing a district or fellowship is, “Why would we do that?” It’s a good question. After all, we have functioned perfectly well for twenty years with only a small portion of our congregations being actively involved in a district or fellowship. Why would we want to change that? The time when everyone in our association knew everyone ... [...]
In June, leaders from ten existing and potential districts and fellowships, along with LCMC staff, had their annual meeting at Hosanna! Lutheran Church in St. Charles, IL. The gathering was an excellent opportunity for the staff to learn more about the priorities and concerns of leaders, for the various districts and fellowships to share their stories, and for those considering forming (or re-forming) a district or fellowship to get some ... [...]
It’s great to be aboard the LCMC national staff as Coordinator for Districts and Fellowships. While this is a brand new position, LCMC’s commitment to districts and fellowships goes back to our earliest days. Our founding documents highlight local, grassroots partnerships as crucial for congregational support in carrying out their missions. Districts can be places for shared mission endeavors, collegiality and ... [...]
Plans are well under way for the 2019 Annual Gathering and Convention, September 29 - October 2 in Omaha, Nebraska. Our theme this year is “Listen Up!” We will spend our time together considering the challenges that come in our attempts to hear clearly. How do we listen for God’s callings in our lives? How do we listen to the needs of our neighbors? How do we listen across generational ... [...]