We gather for worship on Saturday and Sunday to celebrate our global mission partnerships. On Saturday night we will ponder the gifts of global mission. On Sunday morning we will welcome two leaders who served as Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGMs). We give thanks for Izzy Demarest and Kristie Olson. Izzy served in Argentina and Kristie served in Hungary. Kristie is now the ELCA’s YAGM short term recruiter for the Midwest. Last year, we also supported Boyson Olson who served in Cambodia. We have sponsored YAGMs since 2016, so we mark 10 years of sponsorship.
Accompaniment is defined as journeying together in a solidarity that practices interdependence and mutuality. The ELCA lives out accompaniment in relationships with global companions, striving to share God’s love and participate in God’s mission together:
- Mutually: All of us have gifts to support God’s mission. There is no mission to, only mission with and among.
- Inclusively: We seek to build relationships across boundaries that exclude and divide.
- Vulnerably: Just as Jesus became vulnerable to us, we open ourselves to others.
- Empowering: We seek to identify and correct imbalances of power, which may mean recognizing and letting go of our own.
- Sustainably: To ensure local ministries last for a long time, we seek to embed mission in ongoing relationships and communities.
You are invited to the Great Room after worship on Saturday or between services on Sunday to visit the mission partnership tables and learn more about our shared work around the world.
Yours in Christ Jesus,
Pastor Peter