Follow the Magi through the life of Jesus in this interactive presentation. After the 20 minute journey by candlelight, join us inside for live music and Rosca de Reyes (King Cake).
Cap off your Christmas season with [...]]]>
Follow the Magi through the life of Jesus in this interactive presentation. After the 20 minute journey by candlelight, join us inside for live music and Rosca de Reyes (King Cake).
Cap off your Christmas season with this festive event for the whole family! More information at 945-3993.
]]>The concert is free to all with monetary donations being accepted onsite to benefit the Food Bank of Corpus Christi.
Celia Whitler is a singer-songwriter who makes music in a wide [...]]]>
We will be hosting Nashville recording artist & songwriter Celia Whitler in concert at Brewster Street Icehouse on September 9th, 2012 at 6:30 pm.
The concert is free to all with monetary donations being accepted onsite to benefit the Food Bank of Corpus Christi.
Celia Whitler is a singer-songwriter who makes music in a wide variety of venues both sacred and secular. She communicates with a powerful and unique voice as she tells stories and sings songs with an intimacy that captures the listening community. Celia writes both Christian and secular songs, many of which she records herself and she performs regularly at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, the premier songwriters venue in Nashville.
We hope you will join us at Brewster Street!
]]>Go in peace. Serve the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Do you know what we really wanted to say at the end of the worship service in the Superdome? “Get the hell out of here.”
God did not intend for us to stay in the upper room like the [...]]]>
Go in peace. Serve the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Do you know what we really wanted to say at the end of the worship service in the Superdome? “Get the hell out of here.”
God did not intend for us to stay in the upper room like the disciples (Luke 24:36-43), held captive by fear that Jesus had been abandoned them. Nor did God intend for us to remain on the mountain top, (Mark 9:2-8) basking in Jesus’ glory.
We were created to live in the midst of a groaning creation (Romans 8:22).
Disciples of Christ stand with each other in the midst of life’s struggles. Disciples are companions on the journey of life that includes gain and loss,
joy and sorrow, pain and healing, victory and failure, not life that consists only of success and satisfaction, security and self-gratification.
When you arrived in New Orleans you were asked to listen for the divine whisper. What has God whispered in your ear this week?
You were invited to be present to what God is up to New Orleans and in our own lives. How will you practice that kind of presence in the days, weeks and months to come?
We invited you to hear God’s call on your life and to get real about following Jesus. What if we quit playing the game of faith and actually lived this life of faith with every twist and turn?
What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus, and to take the risk of following the one who died on the cross?
How will you tell others about your encounter with Jesus this week?
The world knows us by our actions.
The cross traced on our foreheads at baptism is only visible when we follow, when we take the risk to challenge the prevailing signs and images.
How will you take seriously the promise you made at your confirmation to “strive for justice and peace in all the earth” (ELW page 236)?
Pray…
]]>Church: Pray for the Lutheran World Federation, of which the ELCA is a member, as the prepare to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation in 2017.
World: Pray for all of the countries of the world separated by walls of any kind – physical, spiritual, political, economic.
New Orleans: Pray for the people who are held captive by the systems that perpetuate poverty.
Self/Group: Pray that you will be accepted back into your congregation as leaders who will inspire a stronger commitment to mission.
Thanks: Give thanks for the adult leaders who spent the week with you in New Orleans.
The recovery crews have moved on.
Government officials are holding news conferences in other areas of conflict.
On the surface, life seems to have settled into a new normal in New Orleans.
So why have ELCA youth and adults come back?
The recovery crews have moved on.
Government officials are holding news conferences in other areas of conflict.
On the surface, life seems to have settled into a new normal in New Orleans.
So why have ELCA youth and adults come back?
Surely there are other areas of the country that could use the assistance of 30,000+ eager workers.
Here’s the deal:
New Orleans still needs us to tell the truth about what happened here in 2005, and what continues to happen here every day. The scab that was ripped off by Hurricane Katrina exposed a generational, systemic cancer of poverty that desperately needs healing. We can’t stop telling the truth until all of God’s people are free from the bondage of poverty.
We have returned to New Orleans not to replicate what we did in 2009, that makes it about us.
We return bearing witness to a God who stands with God’s people in their suffering, and in so doing, we learn about our own suffering and our own need for conversion. Our coming back says to the people of New Orleans, we are with you as Jesus is with you.
We learn that we need a change of attitude that softens our hearts toward one another, and opens our arms to life in all its shapes and forms.
So we stand with New Orleans in our mutual need for conversion, on the verge of a totally new life.
A life in which all enjoy freedom from the burdens of racism and poverty, and freedom that knows mutual welfare and security that true citizenship affords.
New Orleanians told us they need people who will tell the truth about this systemic, generation poverty they are attempting to overcome.
New Orleans is everywhere if only we have eyes to see. Where is the injustice in your community? How can you set your neighbors free by exposing the truth about their bondage? A church in mission like ours is a church that tells the truth about what we see. About what is God calling you to tell the truth?
Pray…
]]>Church: Pray for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania and the 21 hospitals and 47 secondary schools it operates.
World: Pray for people around the world who have to worry about retribution if they express an opinion different than the ruling power.
New Orleans: Pray for the children and adults whose poor literacy skills contribute to their engagement in criminal behavior.
Self/Group: Pray for the courage to speak truth in love and not judgment.
Thanks: Give thanks for the people you know who work to correct unfair or harmful situations.
Bullies pose a threat. Nations stock pile weapons for war.
Genocide ravages entire villages. Prejudice distorts power.
Fear makes everything out of whack, broken, sideways, wrong ways.
Fear grabs ahold of you and me and we are paralyzed and paranoid.
Fear deadens our ability to trust and can [...]]]>
Bullies pose a threat. Nations stock pile weapons for war.
Genocide ravages entire villages. Prejudice distorts power.
Fear makes everything out of whack, broken, sideways, wrong ways.
Fear grabs ahold of you and me and we are paralyzed and paranoid.
Fear deadens our ability to trust and can quickly turn neighbors into bitter enemies.
How many wars could have been avoided if leaders were not afraid to compromise?
How many friendships could have remained if someone had the nerve to say, “I’m sorry.”
Fear locks us away. Isolates us. Brick by brick we convince ourselves that it is best to just take care of number one. Make sure we are safe and happy. So, we build a wall. Put on a mask. Smile and pretend everything is A-OK. Even though we know it is a lie, we answer “everything is fine” when everything is not.
And then Jesus shows up.
Walks right through our fortified walls of fear, pulls off our ridiculous masks, stands smack dab in the middle of our hatred and racism, self-loathing and violent leanings, and says – be still – I am peace. I bring peace.
Peace be with you. This gives new meaning to those moments when we sit in doubt and fear and pain. Be still, peace is with you.
Our God is a God of peace. Where there is division, walls, hostility, God reconciles us together. Heals us.
Our God is a God who mends. Making what was once a million pieces into one complete whole.
Our God is a God of comfort. When we are afraid, scared of our own shadow, God is close. Closer to us than the air we breathe. Speaking words of peace, “Be still, dear one.” Peace is with you.
Our God is a God of life, calling each of us to live in the hope of a new humanity shaped not by fear, but by the peace of Christ. Truth is: you may still be afraid and that’s okay.
Truth is: God is with you, claiming you, comforting you, calling you to look past your fear, to find in this life the deep peace of God and hear the words you need so desperately to believe:
“Be still my child. Be still.”
Pray…
]]>Church: Pray for the Lutheran Church in Liberia and their new bishop, Jensen Seyenkulo
World: Pray for people throughout the world who take great risks to work for peace.
New Orleans: Pray for the people of New Orleans who don’t enjoy the privileges of citizenship.
Self/Group: Pray that you/your group has the courage to respond when God calls you to risk something for your faith
Thanks: Give thanks for the people in your life who inspire you by the way they advocate for people who are different, or who don’t have a voice.
God is holding all of us responsible for each other.
As followers of Jesus, we give ourselves for the welfare of the rest of the world, not to dominate the world with our wealth, our intellect, our scientific capabilities, our products or our weapons, but to love the world – all of [...]]]>
God is holding all of us responsible for each other.
As followers of Jesus, we give ourselves for the welfare of the rest of the world, not to dominate the world with our wealth, our intellect, our scientific capabilities, our products or our weapons, but to love the world – all of creation – like Jesus.
Loving like Jesus might take the form of…
- listening before speaking
- giving power away rather than clinging to it for our own gain
- taking a backseat so another can be in the spotlight
- turning the other cheek
Self-giving love can feel like defeat in a world filled with messages that promote…
- victory over the enemy
- power over weakness
- new over used
- an eye for an eye
- selfishness over selflessness
- us over them
You have been called to acts of faith that help you tune in to the world immediately around you and the world far away. That kind of faith involves risk, especially in a world that functions most comfortably within clearly articulated walls.
The faith to which you have been called risks seeing God at work in others – in their needs, and ideas, their hopes and plans, their failures and successes – as well as in ourselves.
That kind of faith will appear risky, even threatening to some. It is hard to let go of the belief that we are the be-all and end-all of the universe; that the world revolves around us.
In a me-first culture, it isn’t always our first inclination to step aside and let another go first, or stoop down and wash the feet of another like Jesus did.
As disciples of Christ our posture should be one of humility.
Talk about ways you can practice a posture of humility…
- at the Gathering
- in your school
- in your family
- in your congregation
No one gave more than Jesus.
In his death and resurrection, Jesus makes it possible for you to give yourself away for the love of God. Did you risk giving yourself for another today? What risk are you willing to take for the sake of Christ when you go home?
Pray…
]]>Church: Pray for the Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land whose members, along with all Palestinians, are humiliated and harassed every time they have to pass more than 500 check points in their own land.
World: Pray for the citizens of countries in the world who are oppressed by their governments.
New Orleans: Pray for the young people who are bullied in New Orleans, and pray for those doing the bullying.
Self/Group: Pray that you/your group has the courage to respond when God calls you to risk something for your faith.
Thanks: Give thanks for the people who will be serving you/your group this week like housekeepers, wait staff, other hotel staff, and the 2,000 ELCA volunteers who give up vacations and family time to serve the ministry of the Gathering.
God is always communicating with God’s world, and with us, but we aren’t always tuned in to hear God’s voice.
How were you/were you aware of God’s presence today?
How were you tuned in to God today?
In the 17th century, Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection lived a lowly [...]]]>
God is always communicating with God’s world, and with us, but we aren’t always tuned in to hear God’s voice.
How were you/were you aware of God’s presence today?
How were you tuned in to God today?
In the 17th century, Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection lived a lowly life, mostly in the kitchen of a Carmelite monastery in Paris. Even though he was uneducated, people were drawn to Brother Lawrence because of his peaceful nature.
Brother Lawrence encouraged people who wanted to experience deep peace to practice God’s presence by continually conversing with God. “It seems,” he wrote, “like a world of trouble to bring oneself into the consciousness of God’s presence.” But it is really very simple. He kept his attention riveted on God no matter how mundane a task he was doing.
He did everything for the love of God. After his death in 1691, a book was written about Brother Lawrence called “The Practice of the Presence of God.”
You will be learning much about the practice of faith this week at the Gathering. Practicing your faith is like developing any relationship. You have to give it time and attention. It requires you to see, hear, feel and constantly remember your partner, God. And, like Brother Lawrence, you have the opportunity to do everything, even the most mundane things, for the love of God.
Discuss how you will attempt to keep your mind on Christ (Romans 8:6) this week, even when you are doing the most mundane of tasks like eating or standing in line to get into the Superdome, or taking a shower. Talk to each other about your struggle to keep God at the forefront of your consciousness throughout the day. What is distracting you? What practice helps enliven your awareness of God’s presence? Ask God for the grace to keep your mind focused on Jesus as you attempt to live your life in the way of Christ.
Pray…
]]>Church: Pray for the Peruvian Evangelical Lutheran Church and the Central African Republic companion churches of the Texas, Louisiana Gulf Coast synod, the Gathering’s host synod.
World: Pray for the International Companions who will be with us this week from nineteen countries.
New Orleans: Pray for the New Orleans police department and other security personnel who will keep us safe this week.
Self/Group: Ask God for the grace to keep everyone in your group focused on Jesus this week.
Thanks: Give thanks for the bus driver(s) or pilots or engineers who brought you safely to New Orleans
A new Final 15 will go up here on our website every night at 8 p.m.
From ELCA:
The “Final 15” was introduced at the 2003 ELCA Youth Gathering in Atlanta, Ga., and has become a valued part of the Gathering experience for many. It was originally intended to be the last thing a group did together each day at the Gathering, but in 2012 planners have scheduled time for groups to “take 15” earlier in the evening.
Take the time, every night, to dwell in God’s word, reflect on the day, care for each other and pray. There is encouragement and strength in knowing that thousands of other young people and adults are engaging in the same practice ― here and at home ― in the presence of God.
It was a close [...]]]>
It was a close call, but…
The Pies had it!
Right after the 10:30 service, Pastor Mark was treated to not one, but TWO pies to the face. Each throw was auctioned off and Rita won the first toss and Kaitlyn, one of the teens headed to the Youth Gathering, won the second.
After the pies were thrown, goodbyes were said to the first group headed out to New Orleans to attend the Multicultural Youth Leadership Event (MYLE) that starts Monday.
Chloe, Lorie, Areyna, and Kaitlyn head to New Orleans to attend MYLE
The rest of the group will leave Tuesday morning to attend the Gathering, which starts on Wednesday. We are planning a viewing of the opening of the 2012 ELCA Youth Gathering Wednesday night and would love for you to join us. We’ll be trying to hold a call-in with the teens at around 6:30 p.m. before the event starts at 7 p.m. We hope you’ll join us!
]]>There are currently 3 flocks that are in rotation, but you never know where they might pop [...]]]>
There are currently 3 flocks that are in rotation, but you never know where they might pop up next! Recent plastic flamingo sightings have been in the Flour Bluff and south side Corpus area.
Have you submitted your order to send a flock of flamingos to friends and/or family yet? There’s still plenty of time! Imagine the looks on their faces when they walk out and see this wonderful plethora of pink flamingos on their yard! Priceless!
All you have to do is click here to download the order form, fill it out, and drop it off at Galilean! (If you would like more information, please call the church.)
AND–did you know you can buy Flamingo Insurance? YOU CAN! Starting at $50, you can be sure that your yard won’t be subjected to flamingos–unless, you know, someone offers us more than your policy amount. The more you donate insure, the safer your yard will be!
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